What Lieberman's Endorsement Means

As a general rule, I don't think endorsements count for much--but I think Joe Lieberman's endorsement of John McCain does mean something.

It will influence the thoughts of independents in states in which they participate in primaries. This is an electorate in search of change and away from the "same ol' same ol'" in Washington. Certainly McCain and Lieberman represent independent thought and folks will give them BOTH a look--watch for the continued speculation that Lieberman and McCain will be a team on the ticket.

It also focuses the thoughts of the electorate on the main issue of the next election: national security. We shouldn't forget that we are electing a commander-in-chief in a time of war.

By extension, the Lieberman endorsement also reveals a real weakness in the field of Democratic candidates. Voters generally trust Republicans on issues of national security and this reinforces that. Polls have shown that Democratic voters don't rank national security as highly as Republicans on their lists of issue priorities; Democrats will need to continue to walk a fine line between addressing domestic issues and talking terrorism.