It seems that in the wake of the Democratic vote to keep him in his chairmanship, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is sharing his feelings publicly. Never one to shun attention, he gave an interview with Tom Brokaw on NBC’s Meet the Press Sunday morning. During the exchange Lieberman honed in on the aspect of “bi-partisanship” and “reconciliation”. Yet, he seemed to waffle on some of the most probing questions asked by the host. Check out some of these exchanges by virtue of the transcript:
On attacking Mr. Obama’s character and platform at the Republican National Convention:
MR. BROKAW: You said you weren’t going to attack him [Barack Obama], but you were saying, in effect there, he’s just not qualified to be president of the United States.
SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I was saying he was less qualified than John McCain. I think I, I praised him right, right there. Look, in that speech, as I said to the Republican delegates, I wasn’t really speaking to them, I was speaking as an independent Democrat to independents and Democrats across America about why…
He described what the atmosphere has been like in the aftermath of the secret ballot deciding his fate in Congressional circles:
MR. BROKAW: Have you picked up the phone and talked to Barack Obama about just that?
SEN. LIEBERMAN: I, I called Senator Obama, President-elect Obama, after the campaign. He’s busy. I heard back from Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel. I’m sure, in time, Senator Obama and I, who, who, who have developed a good friendship and working relationship over the years he’s been in the Senate, will, will talk. In some sense he talked to me through Harry Reid and his spokespeople, and I appreciate very much the spirit of reconciliation that he evoked.
Brokaw then ventured to ask whether Lieberman would apologize for what he’s said and done. The fourth page of the transcript displays the answer:
MR. BROKAW: I hear the word regret but not the word apology.
SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I do, I regret it. I mean, I don’t, I, I, you know, I’m going forward. You can take from the word regret what you, what you, will. I wish I had not said some of the things I’ve said. But, again, we all do it. There was a lot of stuff said in this campaign about both candidates that I think a lot of people regret. I’m happy to step forward and say that I regret some of the things I’ve said. But somebody once said to me, God put our eyes in front of our head so we would always be naturally looking forward. And that’s what, at this time of peril for our country, we’ve all got to be doing.
So, is anyone in the Senate regretting their vote now?
Tags: barack obama, Current Events, democrats, Politics
