Iraq is receding as a major issue. Obama and the Iraqi government agree that most U.S. forces should be out of the country within his first two years as president. Arguments within the U.S. fading to irrelevance. Just as significantly, with Obama in office, the odds of another Iraq-like military engagement – with, say, Iran – will be dramatically lower than they have been under Bush or would have been under McCain. It’s very likely, then, that international affairs will not drive a giant wedge between Lieberman and the Democratic Party over the next four years.
Without that wedge, there’s no reason Lieberman can’t slowly re-establish himself as bankable Democratic vote in the Senate. On health care, the environment, energy policy and numerous other domestic issues, Lieberman has as much common ground with Obama as any Democrat in the Senate. And, by encouraging Senate Democrats not to expel him, Obama has extended a meaningful olive branch to Lieberman.
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