Joe Staying Put

Many Democrats wanted to give Joe Lieberman the boot from his powerful committee chairmanship. But Barack Obama thought different. CNN is reporting, “Senate Democrats appear willing to let Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Connecticut, keep his powerful Homeland Security Committee chairmanship, even though he campaigned vigorously for Sen. John McCain’s White House bid. But the veteran lawmaker will, according to the sources, lose a less prominent chairmanship of a subcommittee on the Environment and Public Works Committee. Several lawmakers involved in the discussions over Lieberman’s fate credited President-elect Barack Obama’s desire to keep Lieberman in the Democratic caucus and let bygones be bygones as being a key reason Democratic leaders have agreed to support allowing Lieberman to keep his committee chair.”

Obama seems to have a Lincoln-esq ability to forget about old rivalries and opponents and instead focus on what is best for the country. Obama’s call for a conciliatory tone with Lieberman, his eagerness to meet with John McCain and of course his consideration of Hillary Clinton of Secretary of State is plenty of evidence that change is coming to Washington.