Joe Liebermans War - Hubris Unleashed -Joe's right & everyone else is wrong

Facinating article. Joe comes off as a self-serving schmuck.  Joe has a messianic quality.  He's convinced that what's good for Joe is good not only for CT but for the Democratic Party, the country and the whole darn world.

I've included a couple of excerpts for your reading pleasure. Joe Lieberman's War

Lieberman is quick to turn that accusation around. "Look, talk about who is a good Democrat or who is a bad Democrat. By running his campaign on this single issue, he has taken the safest Democratic Senate seat and put it somewhat in jeopardy," he says disingenuously. "And he has taken three Democratic House challengers, each of whom has a chance to get elected, and by putting me in a position that I may not be on the Democratic line, has made it harder for them to get elected."

This idea of good and bad Democrats resonates with Lieberman. In his mind, he is not just fighting for reelection but for the soul and the future of the party--and therefore the fight must be won at any cost. "What kind of Democratic Party are we going to have?" he asks. "You've got to agree 100 percent, or you're not a good Democrat?" In his view, Lamont is not suitable for office not just because he has no experience on the Hill, but also because he's a polarizing figure who will push the Democrats further into the margins. "Unless the party has room for people like me," continues Lieberman, "unless the party begins to redeem some public confidence on issues of national security, we're not going to elect a Democratic president or Congress ahead."

Lieberman thinks of going independent as a pragmatic ploy, not an abandonment of his party. "I've been a Democrat for 40 years, I'll die a Democrat, I'll probably be a Democrat after my death, I may still be voting Democrat in some cities in Connecticut postmortem," he jokes. But his action was widely viewed as an astonishing act of hubris, an egotistic declaration that he, Joe Lieberman, was more important than his own party. "Joe bolting the party is a stark admission that things have gone terribly awry in Lieberman land," says George Jepsen, a former Connecticut Democratic Party chairman who backs Lamont. A Democratic senator from another state said disapprovingly, "Look, you're part of the Democratic Party or you're not. Once you move away, you're making yourself more important than what you're supposedly doing. Is it more important for the individual to be in the Senate or the ideals and principles you represent?"