Good Politics, Bad Policy

So Joe Lieberman lost the Democratic primary, but affirms his intention to run as an independent. Hope he does -- and the margin of his defeat was small enough that he probably will, and given the poor quality of the Republican candidate, he's likely to win.

No doubt the outcome of the primary is an unfortunate result for the country as a whole. Other Democrats, eager to escape Lieberman's fate, will take this as a sign that they, too, must embrace increasingly radicalized positions on the war. Given the polarization that will cause -- and the potential impact on the war in Congress -- that's a terrible outcome for the country.

But politically, it's good news. An independent Lieberman will be freer to join with the Senate Republicans when he wants to; what's more, Americans in the center have an opportunity to see first hand how radicalized the Democratic Party has become in the war on terror -- which may keep some, otherwise disgruntled with the Republicans, from pulling the Dem lever this fall. It's already hard to support a Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Conyers; it's likewise scary to think of a Senate full of Lamonts.

It's bad news for Hillary Clinton, in particular. It shows her that her projected game plan of triangulation isn't going to be tolerated by the hot-white activists who are controlling Democratic nominating contests. And at least that's one piece of news that's good for the country AND good political news.