What, Are Democrats Going To Hate Him More?

Apparently, Joe Lieberman will speak in praise of John McCain at the RNC in a few weeks. I suppose this means he won't be one of the "cool kids" in the Democrats' Senate caucus any more. Oh, wait, he's only barely tolerated there now. Maybe he'll have to deal with a primary challenge when he runs for re-election. Oh, wait, he already did have a primary challenge, which he lost, and then got himself re-elected anyway as an independent. So now he's standing up for McCain, who is a personal friend of his and with whom he has had a mutual admiration society for years.

Personally, I find this appealing. McCain and Lieberman disagree on a lot of things, they agree on quite a few things, and they have a working political relationship that is not governed by party affiliation but rather by trying to find common ground. This is the very definition of an "independent" and it seems like the way politics ought to be done. Lieberman is certainly not beholden to the Democratic party any more, and can act politically as he pleases. So why not speak at the RNC?