“I will be proud to be a sponsor of the important effort to enable patriotic gay Americans to defend our national security and our founding values of freedom and opportunity,” he said in a statement Monday in which he noted his longtime opposition to the policy.

“To exclude one group of Americans from serving in the armed forces is contrary to our fundamental principles as outlined in the Declaration of Independence and weakens our defenses by denying our military the service of a large group of Americans who can help our cause,” said Lieberman, who has angered liberals with his resistance to Democratic orthodoxy on issues like health care reform.

The New York Daily News, which first broke the news, interviewed the Connecticut senator about his opposition to the policy, which was crafted under President Bill Clinton in 1993 following a divisive battle over gays in the military.

“My own experience as a member of the Armed Services Committee, visiting our troops on bases here in this country and abroad, particularly in war zones, the most remarkable quality you’ll find is unit cohesion,” the former Democrat said. “What matters is not the gender of the other person in your unit or the color or the religion or in this case the sexual orientation. It’s whether that person is a good soldier you can depend on.”

Joe Lieberman to Take Lead on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in Senate – Political Hotsheet – CBS News.

In an interview on Connecticut’s Face The State program this weekend, Lieberman once again said that it was “possible” he could run for re-election as a Republican. Noting that “it would be harder, to be honest, to get the nomination in the Democratic party,” Lieberman said that while he is “most likely” to remain an independent, he could see himself as a Republican:

more….

Think Progress » Lieberman: ‘It’s Possible’ I Could Be ‘A Good Old-Fashioned New England Moderate Republican’.

Ass Hat Palin

Sarah Palin believed that Sen. John McCain chose her to be his running mate in 2008 because of “God’s plan,” according to a top political strategist in the Arizona Republican’s campaign.

In an interview with the CBS news magazine “60 Minutes,” Steve Schmidt described Palin as “very calm – nonplussed” after McCain met with her at his Arizona ranch just before putting her on the Republican ticket. McCain had planned to name Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., as his vice presidential choice until word leaked, sparking what Schmidt called political blowback over picking the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee.

Schmidt said he asked Palin about her serenity in the face of becoming “one of the most famous people in the world.” He quoted her as saying, “It’s God’s plan.”

Palin has not ruled out a run for the presidency.

Schmidt was interviewed by “60 Minutes” for a segment about a new book about the 2008 presidential race, “Game Change,” by John Heilemann of New York magazine and Mark Halperin of Time magazine.

more……

Steve Schmidt: Palin Believed Candidacy ‘God’s Plan’.

yo mama:

Lieberman has hit a low point with Democrats usually reserved for Republican politicians, with 81% of them disapproving of him to just 14% happy with his performance. Republicans give him bad marks by a 48/39 margin and independents do so by a 61/32 spread.

Wonkette : Joe Lieberman Slightly Less Popular Than Breast Cancer, 9/11.