One of the mild conspiracy theories surrounding Lieberman's remarkable support from the GOP machine -- despite his pledge that he will caucus with Democrats, which is becoming a maximally high-value promise, given the increasing likelihood of a near-deadlocked Senate -- has been that he will accept Bush's nomination for Rumsfeld's job, allowing Gov Rell to appoint a Republican replacement in the Senate.
I've been dismissive of this theory, but ...
... but the more I turn it over in my mind, the more plausible I think it is. It allows everyone involved to look good. Lieberman gets to look like a white knight. Bush gets to look reasonable. (Think about it, what other potential avenues are there at this point for Bush to appear reasonable regarding Iraq?) And GOP supporters of Lieberman get something for their money, which is probably the most compelling argument. Why on earth should the hardcore GOP (including the odious Joe Allbaugh) support a vote for Democratic Senate leadership? What other value for them could possibly offset that cost?
Everyone will look good except Democrats, of course, who will look like utter patsies, especially given the debasing "blow-job contest of epic proportions" (Digby's phrase, I think) that would follow a Lieberman victory.