The McCain campaign undoubtedly is delighted to have the open, active support of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee. On a critical issue facing the nation - the continuing war against Islamic extremism - Lieberman and McCain largely agree.
Yet it is a sad state of affairs that a leader of Lieberman's stature clearly would not have been welcome at his own party's convention. For Joe Lieberman is officially an independent because his own party would not tolerate his refusal to endorse surrender during the lowest point of the war in Iraq.
The supposedly liberal Democratic Party has become the party of intolerance toward anyone who does not toe the party line. The GOP, on the other hand, now has as its standard-bearer a senator who has frequently irritated his party, most notably with his misguided advocacy of ever more complex campaign finance rules.
The McCain camp would be wise to highlight not just Sen. Lieberman's agreement with McCain's approach to security, but also, just as important, the Democratic Party's inability to abide disagreement within its ranks - its fear of open debate of issues. Americans expect political parties to have a reasonably coherent philosophy that can be predictably applied to a wide range of issues; yet most Americans also expect parties to fulfill their civic role as mediating bodies by allowing robust dissent within their ranks.