Lieberman criticizes Obama's blame America stand on Israel

NY Times:

Democrats did not expect Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the independent and former Democratic vice presidential nominee, to endorse Senator Barack Obama after he secured enough delegates to be the Democratic presidential pick. After all, Mr. Lieberman is a close ally of Senator John McCain.

But they evidently did not anticipate he would join in a Republican event criticizing Mr. Obama’s stance on Iran and Israel when the Democrat was making his first appearance as the presumptive nominee before a leading Jewish organization.

That did not go over well with Democrats, who have made an uneasy peace with Mr. Lieberman since they need his vote to hold the majority in the Senate. It is one thing to back his friend; it is another thing to aggressively go after Mr. Obama in concert with lawmakers such as Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, a member of the House Republican leadership.

“To attack Barack, it seemed like crossing a line,” said Representative Rahm Emanuel, Democrat of Illinois.

On the conference call organized by the McCain campaign, Mr. Lieberman weighed in after his colleague’s speech at the American Israel Political Affairs Committee. He said Mr. Obama seemed to blame American foreign policy for most of the current tension with Iran and its threats against Israel. “If Israel is in trouble today, it is not because of American foreign policy,” he told reporters.

The word evidently got back to Mr. Obama, who cornered Mr. Lieberman for an intense chat on the Senate floor when he dropped by for a budget vote.

Some Democrats were privately agitating for retaliation against Mr. Lieberman, who because of his decision to caucus with the party serves as chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. But the party has little recourse now. And his potential high-profile role in the McCain campaign is hardly news since he has said he would consider delivering a speech at the Republican National Convention.

A spokesman for Mr. Lieberman said disagreements were matters of policy and suggested they would continue....

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Democrats would rather hold a Republican responsible for the bad conduct of an enemy than the enemy. That is what Obama was doing and it is right that he should be called on this perfidiousness. It has been especially bad during this administration when most of them have treated George Bush as the enemy rather than the countries that wish us and our allies ill. It is proper that Obama should be called to task on this and Democrats in general. His criticism on Iran is both obscene and ignorant.

As for Lieberman, he owes the Democrats nothing after they worked for his opponent. He is just giving them the same treatment.

The Democrats would be wiser to attack Iran and not the Bush administration when it comes to Israel. But statesman like conduct has been abandoned by Democrats in recent years.