Beyond the Dome

Obama arrives at the Capitol this morning. (CQ Photo by Scott Ferrell)

The new Democratic nominee-in-waiting, Barack Obama, stopped by the Senate a little while ago to vote for the final budget resolution and accept congratulations from his colleagues. But one of the longest chats he had was with Joseph I. Lieberman -- the one member of the Democratic caucus who is campaigning for Obama's opponent, Republican nominee-in-waiting John McCain.

Shortly before the vote, Lieberman, now an Independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats, joined a McCain conference call with reporters to offer some mild criticisms of Obama's speech to AIPAC this morning. Among other things, Lieberman said Obama had blamed U.S. foreign policy too much for the threat Iran poses to Israel.

"If Israel is in danger today, it's not because of American foreign policy," Lieberman said. "It's not because of what we're doing in Iraq. It's because Iran is a fanatical, expansionist state and has a leader that keeps threatening to extinguish the state of Israel."

So when Obama and Lieberman slipped away during the vote for a private chat, there was little mystery about what they were talking about.

Their greeting on the Senate floor was friendly, but many Democrats aren't pleased that Lieberman is going beyond simple disagreements with Obama -- notably on the Iraq war and how to deal with Iran -- and actively participating in McCain events criticizing Obama.

"Of course it's a concern when someone within your caucus is supporting the other party's candidate for president," said Senate Majority Whip Richard J. Durbin of Illinois, one of Obama's closest allies. "I'm not going to try to sugarcoat that. But Joe Lieberman's an honorable man. I think he will be with us on the Democratic side more than not, and I hope that we can work with him to strike a balance in terms of his role in the McCain campaign."

Still, Durbin couldn't resist issuing prodding Lieberman to watch himself. "This is a pretty small club, 100 people, and we bump into one another every day on different issues. You try, even though you disagree, not to burn bridges. And I just hope it never reaches that point."