To change "how Washington works", you can't accept excuses to the effect of "in the heat of a campaign things were said that I regret...", not because those things that were said need be repudiated, and not because of some wistful and unrealistic expectations of some new "purity" descending from the heavens. No, you cannot accept it for two reasons:

1. Doing so is politics as usual.  How many times have we seen strategic decisions trump principle?

2. In the end, even the "strategic" reason will prove nothing but a self-inflicting blunder - as the person being spared for their disreputable actions will not suddenly become a new person.  That person will not have any epiphanies. And their record shows that they will, eventually and without a doubt, act in a similarly self-serving-to-an-unacceptable-extreme manner again in the future... most likely when it will do the most damage to those foolishly relying on him having "learned a lesson".

Make whatever excuses you want, but this is just wrong, and disappointing, and will carry a heavy price sooner or later.

Damn.

P.S. My hope, is that Mr. Lieberman's constituents will not swallow the pill, and will in fact have the principle, nay, the spine and wisdom, to remove him themselves when he runs for re-election.