Obama woodsheds Lieberman?

Through the vagaries of party balance in the Senate, Joe Lieberman’s official status as traitor and McCain supporter has been largely tolerated by a feckless Democratic leadership. Word is that a line may have been drawn, however, by the man who Lieberman once mentored and who now stands as the Dem standard bearer.

Sen. Joe Lieberman, the self-described “Independent Democrat” who caucuses with the Democratic party in the Senate even though he has endorsed Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, got some tough talk from Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, yesterday about his advocacy for the presumptive Republican presidential candidate and the general tone of the campaign, Democratic sources tell ABC News. [...]

They shook hands. But Obama didn’t let go, leading Lieberman - cordially - by the hand across the room into a corner on the Democratic side, where Democratic sources tell ABC News he delivered some tough words for the junior senator from Connecticut, who had just minutes before hammered Obama’s speech before the pro-Israel group AIPAC in a conference call arranged by the McCain campaign.

Watch video of the encounter on the Senate floor HERE.

Diplomatic words like “cordial” and “friendly” are being bantered about by spokesmen for the two senators, but gossipy others have a different take.

Democratic sources tell ABC News that the conversation was a stern rebuke to Lieberman for his criticism of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee on the conference call, as well as a discussion about how far Lieberman is willing to go in his advocacy of McCain, and the tone of the campaign.

“It’s one thing to support McCain,” said one Democratic source, “but many think Uncle Joe has gone too far.”

Hard to know how much of this is spin, but what matters is what happens next. If Lieberman’s increasingly vocal support for McCain is henceforth muted, Obama gains in stature, especially compared to Majority Leader Harry Reid. If Lieberman continues after yesterday to stab his own party and its nominee in the back, it will be perceived as a direct challenge and insult as well as a sign of weakness for Obama - and will require definite punitive action. It will be an interesting subplot to watch as we head for the general election.

Also: Cheerfully noted at Jack & Jill Politics.

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