Robert Gibbs, unfazed by Joe Lieberman's bloviating about supporting the GOP filibuster (from a press gaggle aboard Air Force One):
Q Politico is reporting that Joe Lieberman is saying he'll join Republicans on a filibuster. Is Obama confident he can get the Democrats to beat back a filibuster in the Senate?
MR. GIBBS: I haven't seen the report from Senator Lieberman or why he's saying what he's saying. I think Democrats and Republicans alike will be held accountable by their constituents who want to see health care reform enacted this year. We see it in the polling that you guys do every day that they want the system, as it is now, to be fixed to ensure accessibility for those that don't have it, for cutting costs for those who do, and for important insurance reforms like preexisting conditions to be addressed. And we know that if that doesn't happen, people say they'll be very disappointed by that, and we think people will make progress to ensure that this gets done.
As Gibbs points out, no matter how powerful the will of Joe Lieberman and his like-minded Republican senatorial colleagues, the will of the American public is stronger and more powerful.
There's no reason to make a deal with Joe Lieberman to get his vote. If he wants to filibuster, let him do it. Eventually he'll cave. It's a battle he can't win -- as long as Senate Democrats are willing to call his bluff.
Meanwhile, on that front, Harry Reid had this to say about Joe Lieberman:
DANA BASH (CNN): Lieberman says he’ll try to block any kind of government-run health care option from passing the Senate, even if it allows states to opt-out.
LIEBERMAN: It’s still a government-run health insurance plan that puts the Federal taxpayer on the line, and I don’t want to do that at this point in our nation’s history. If at the end, it’s not what I think is good for our country, and most people living in our country, then I’ll vote against cloture, and I’ll join a filibuster, and I’ll try to stop the bill from passing.
REID: There are a lot of senators — Democrat and Republicans — who don’t like part of what’s in this bill. ... I have the greatest confidence in Joe Lieberman’s ability as a legislator, and he will work with us when this gets on the floor and I’m sure he’ll have some interesting things to do in the way of amendments, but Joe Lieberman is the least of Harry Reid’s problems.
It's true: if Harry Reid works with Joe Lieberman on the Senate floor to remove or weaken the public option, Lieberman will be the least of his concerns. But the voters in Nevada will be his greatest concern.