THE POLITICAL ANIMAL

During the 2008 campaign, Connecticut Sen. and lifelong Democrat Joe Lieberman –known affectionately as Sen. Droopy Dog to his loving admirers – stumped for GOP candidate John McCain and even gave a speech at the Republican National Convention in which he accused Democratic candidate Barack Obama of being too partisan, naïve, and unwilling to take on special interests within his own party. Lieberman has also criticized Democrats in general for not being aggressive enough on the international stage.

But that’s all in the past, says Associated Press writer Andrew Miga. Apparently, the good senator has experienced a major change of heart since Obama’s inauguration and now sings his praises. 

In other words, this droopy dog, a one-time recipient of a big, sloppy kiss from former Republican president George W. Bush, is burying his nose deep into the crotch of the man he urged the American people to vote against.

“He’s shown real leadership,” Lieberman told The Associated Press in an interview. “Bottom line: I think Barack Obama, president of the United States, is off to a very good start.”

Wow, that was quick. I thought Obama would have had to invade at least three countries and hand over our most important military secrets to Israel before he could get the senator’s approval on anything.

Lieberman, who was the Democratic Party’s vice presidential candidate in 2000, seems eager to let bygones be bygones. When Obama was running for president, the senator couldn’t stop criticizing him, but now that he’s in the Oval Office, Obama can do no wrong in Lieberman’s eyes. The senator bestows accolades on the commander-in-chief’s national security team and comes dangerously close to having an orgasm when describing Obama’s “inspirational and unifying” inaugural.

In just a few short months, Lieberman has gone from being McCain’s preferred ticket partner to captain of the Obama cheerleading squad, and to prove he has been cured of his Republicanitis, Lieberman even fought with the Arizona senator over the Democrats’ Limbaugh-size spending bill and the District of Columbia voting rights bill. 

Why has Droopy Dog changed his tune so suddenly? Only God knows the answer to that question, and you will have to get into heaven before you can learn what that is.

In a totally unrelated story, Lieberman will be facing what is expected to be a tough re-election battle in 2012. Connecticut is a state where the president enjoys a high degree of popularity while Republican, a group that was key to Lieberman’s victory against Ned “The Red” Lamon in the 2006 midterm election, are going the way of the dodo bird. The defeat of liberal Republican Congressman Chris Shays last year was a bellwether for the political demise of the GOP in the Constitution State. Doug Schwartz, director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, says Lieberman’s efforts on behalf of McCain really pissed off a lot of Connecticut voters.

No wonder Droopy Dog wants to patch things up with the leader of his party. But that may prove to be a tall order. According to Miga, “Connecticut’s Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who is mentioned as a possible 2012 Senate Democratic candidate, would beat Lieberman by 28 points in a hypothetical matchup, a recent Quinnipiac poll showed.”

Of course, Lieberman dismisses claims that his embrace of the president is anything other than a principled stand.

“I haven’t changed … I’ve always had a voting record that is more with the Democrats than with the Republicans,” he said.

That’s right. The good senator has not changed one bit. Not one bit!!! In fact, he NEVER said anything bad about Obama. EVER. He has always been one of the president’s staunchest backers. Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia.

As far as this Animal is concerned, that dog has got some nasty fleas. Lieberman is in the doghouse with Connecticut voters and it will be interesting to see whether or not his suck-up offensive will convince them to let him out by 2012.

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