Centerfield

I like Lieberman, but it's pretty clear he has no chance of winning the nomination. My take on the Gore endorsement is that he's trying to make himself look like a kingmaker by seeing a parade and running to the front to look like he's leading it. Jonah Goldberg is carping that Gore is showing his emptiness by failing to endorse the guy he once picked as his running mate, but I find that vacuous at best, disingenuous at worst. Gore is not nearly powerful enough to make a difference by endorsing Lieberman, so there's no point in going down with that ship.

I have no problem with Gore electing the guy he views as the best electable candidate. Sure, it seems opportunistic, but my bottom line take is a huge "so what?" Endorsements are by and large an anachronism. It's not like Gore had a few million voters in his pocket that were wating for Al's say-so. So I think it makes zero difference outside of the punditocracy who are eating through each others butts to pronounce the meaning of it. i don't think there's a single American that changed his mind because of Al Gore. Not one.

I wonder if Lieberman would consider running as an independent at some point?

Not many people look to Al Gore as their guiding star. But he represents the crumbling of the Democratic establishments opposition to Dean, and that's news. Gore has even endorsed Dean's call to "take back the party" It's not clear from whom Gore wants to take it back.