Anyone see Lieberman running as an independent for President?

[casus belli]

I have to think that this guy thinks he is out of reach of both parties - like a political rockstar on tour. I could totally see him letting it get to his head and thinking he has a real chance at winning if he ran for POTUS as an independent candidate.

Considering how popular he is with Republicans, and how they are heralding him as a personal victory for their party, it might actually do us a lot of good if he ran. I think he could pull a pretty good deal of Republican votes from the GOP candidate, and I really feel that he is largely seen as a turncoat by Dems outside of his state.

[longship]

1. Uhhhhh.......... Nope!

:kick:

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

2. Unless Lieberman is a TOTAL idiot (which BTW I DON'T think he is), the 2004

election should have taught him that he just doesn't have the appeal, the "joe-mentum" if you will, to win a national race like this.

[casus belli]

3. LOL @ "Joe-mentum"

You may have just inadvertently given him a campaign slogan.

Feel the "Joe-mentum" for Change. Vote Lieberman/Satan in November 2008.

In all seriousness though, I'd like to think you were right, but he didn't view his defeat in the primaries as a political potentiometer, I'm not sure his arrogance would allow him to think he isn't capable of something. In fact, I'm not entirely convinced that his voting so often with Republicans wasn't just him building up a rep with the majority party for political "capital" in '08.

[dweller]

4. yeah, i'm totally seeing him as running independently

as in alone.

dp

[Richard Steele]

5. Not gonna happen- he's MACHIVELLIAN, not stupid.

He played this game well, and took advantage of some
unique circumstances to keep his weasley little ass
on the public payroll for another six years...

But that's it. This is as far as he goes.
No way in hell he's even gonna get
reelected senator next time, let alone POTUS.
And he knows it.
He's got six years to plan a new career move,
and "president" is not an option.

[cornermouse]

6. Don'tcha know? Lieberman has taken us to the woodshed.

He's taught us our lesson and now we'll be nice obedient little democrats who fall in line and do as we're told.
:sarcasm:

I'm betting that's what he's told himself.

[zyguh]

7. He's gonna have to be an independent forever now, though....

Because he will NEVER get the Dem nomination again, not after he refused to accept his parties wishes and step out of the race in favor of Lamont. He also won because he got 90% of the Republican vote in the state (the Republican received 9% of the total vote), and none of the Dems back home are going to forget it.

Next time he cant win as an Independent because the Republicans wont vote for him next time. They will put up a real candidate and not forgive Joe for saying he's gonna stay true to the Democratic party in the new Congress. And none of the Repubs will forget or forgive him for that.

So, basically, Joe's political career is thru. This will be his last term in Congress. He wont get nominated as a Republican candidate, he wont get nominated as a Democratic candidate and he cant win next time as an Independent candidate.

In two year we will pick up even more Senate seats, at which point Independent Joe can and should be stripped of any seniority. He is the freshman Independent candidate from CT, NOT the senior Democratic senator. Two years and Joe will be completely irrelevant.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

8. It'd be a waste of his own money

His moderately liberal stance on social issues offends the Right and his hawkish foreign policy stance offends the Left. He doesn't have much of a core base to run as an independent. If he officially becomes a Democrat again then I'd be surprised if he seeks the Dem nomination in 2008 since there are candidates who are better campaigners and better at energising the Dem base.