Beyond the Dome

It’s official now: Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, the former Democrat who’s now one of John McCain’s closest allies, will be one of the speakers at the Republican convention in St. Paul in two weeks.

Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee and now an independent, will be one of the speakers on Monday, Sept. 1, the first day of the convention, party officials announced. Two of the other speakers that day: President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, the team that prevailed over Lieberman and Al Gore in that election eight years ago.

The Monday-night slot might ease the growing speculation that Lieberman would actually become McCain’s running mate this year, part of the pro-choice-veep talk that was agitating social conservatives within the Republican Party. But it won’t do anything to ease the talk in Democratic circles that Lieberman should be stripped of his chairmanship of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, which he has only because he caucuses with the Democrats.

So far, the Democrats are making no moves against him. They’re just gritting their teeth really, really hard. “Senator Lieberman can speak to whatever group he wants, but it’s not going to change the fact that John McCain is a flawed candidate who is wrong on every issue facing the country,” said Jim Manley, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

One thing’s for sure: Whatever he says in his speech — the theme of the day is “service,” as in celebrating McCain’s service to his country — Lieberman will have to stick to foreign policy and national security, the areas where he agrees with the Republicans. If he goes anywhere near domestic policy, it will be an instant reminder that Lieberman still mostly sides with the Democrats on those issues.

In other words, he’s still caught in the middle between the two parties. Once you’ve come this far from one side, though, it’s not a stretch to keep going. As former Sen. James M. Jeffords once said, “It’s a short walk across the aisle.”