Joseph Lieberman Challenges Obama's Judgment And Experience

It has been reported that Hamas and The Palestinian Authority both objected to Barack Obama's pro-Israel words today at the AIPAC, but there was someone else that took issue with Obama's words and who implied strongly that those words did not match previous comments of that Obama has made. That someone is Joseph Lieberman. Some things happened today to which ended in an "intense, three-minute conversation" between Barack Obama and Joseph Lieberman. For those unaware, Joseph Lieberman is the Independent Senator from Connecticut, formerly a Democrat. Lieberman caucuses with the Democrats with almost everything except National Security issues. Joseph Lieberman is also an endorser and one of the staunchest supporters for John McCain in his presidential campaign. Lieberman participated today in a Republican conference call hosted by the McCain campaign where it is said he "attacked" Barack Obama regarding Obama's foreign policy comments, present and past comments, saying, "Senator Obama argued today that American foreign policy in recent years has essentially sort of strengthened Iran. If Israel is in danger today, it's not because of American foreign policy, which has been strongly supportive of Israel in every way. It's not because of what we’ve done in Iraq, it’s because Iran is a fanatical terrorist expansionist state." It is reported that Lieberman took center stage after Obama's speech and also mentioned a certain "disconnect" between Obama's past statements and his speech at the AIPAC today.

"To be specific, I was troubled earlier in the campaign season when Sen. Obama compared Iran and other rogue and terrorist states to the Soviet Union, and minimized the threat represented by Iran. I think that’s wrong. Today he said he thought Iran represented a grave threat. I think the statement he made today was right."

Lieberman then brought up the Kyl-Lieberman amendment that labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, which passed the Senate in a bipartisan manner with 29 Democratic Senators voting for it, but Barack Obama did not.

"That measure was supported by three-fourths of the Senate, including Sens. Reid, Schumer, Durbin and Clinton. Sen. Obama opposed it, saying it was saber-rattling referring to the threat of military force. If you look at the Kyl-Lieberman amendment as it was passed, it has none of that in it regarding military action. I still hope he will say that vote was a mistake and he will support that resolution."

The Kyl-Lieberman amendment can be found here. (PDF File) You can also access that amendment here, just scroll to S11911 and it will bring up the text of the amendment. That amendment passed with a 76-22 vote. These comments were made after Lieberman had already congratulated Obama for securing the Democratic nomination and the report of the Obama/Lieberman exchange shows the next event happening as follows. Via Roll Call (Subscription required)

Furthermore, during a Senate vote Wednesday, Obama dragged Lieberman by the hand to a far corner of the Senate chamber and engaged in what appeared to reporters in the gallery as an intense, three-minute conversation.

While it was unclear what the two were discussing, the body language suggested that Obama was trying to convince Lieberman of something and his stance appeared slightly intimidating.

Using forceful, but not angry, hand gestures, Obama literally backed up Lieberman against the wall, leaned in very close at times, and appeared to be trying to dominate the conversation, as the two talked over each other in a few instances.

Still, Obama and Lieberman seemed to be trying to keep the back-and-forth congenial as they both patted each other on the back during and after the exchange.

Afterwards, Obama smiled and pointed up at reporters peering over the edge of the press gallery for a better glimpse of their interaction.

Obama loyalists were quick to express their frustration with Lieberman's decision and warned that if he continues to take a lead role in attacking Obama it could complicate his professional relationship with the Caucus.

This latest exchange has some bringing up a topic that has been floated before, about Joe Lieberman becoming John McCain's running mate. It is doubtful to many that McCain would do that, but every once in a while there is a buzz about it throughout the blogosphere. It also bears noting that Joseph Lieberman is not the only one noticing Barack Obama's "evolving" positions regarding Iran. ABC News and ABC's Political Radar, both took an in depth look at Obama's past statements on Iran and found them to be continually changing.