Hillary Clinton Lends Her Top Aide to the Lamont Campaign

Oh, yeah, Hillary Clinton's working to get Ned Lamont elected.

Meanwhile, Democrats are circling the wagons around Joe Lieberman:

On Hardball, Howard Dean covered his bets:

MATTHEWS: Let me ask you about the Lieberman campaign: If Joe Lieberman wins this general election, he‘s on the ballot as of today...

DEAN: And let me just say...

MATTHEWS: If he wins, will you accept him as a Democrat again? Is he allowed to come back like the prodigal son?

DEAN: Let me add one thing to the Allen controversy. We happen to have a great Democratic candidate who is only three points behind George Allen, and his name is Jim Webb. Served in the Reagan administration with distinction. There is a Democrat that the people of Virginia can be proud of, and the people of Virginia can vote for.

MATTHEWS: Are you going to give him enough money to win?

DEAN: How much is enough? We‘ll see.

MATTHEWS: Fifty percent.

(CROSSTALK)

MATTHEWS: I have to ask you about Joe Lieberman, because your brother is out working for Lamont. Lamont is an impressive candidate. Lieberman, of course, is an impressive guy. Would you be happy if either one won, because either one would become a Democrat once they got back in the Senate? Wouldn‘t you be just as happy with both of them?

DEAN: Well, Ned Lamont is a Democrat. And he‘s a terrific Democrat. He built his own business from nothing. He understands balancing the budget. He understands defense. He understands the Middle East. And I think Ned Lamont is the future.

Joe is a good guy, but Joe is the past. And I think we need a new direction in this country. And it‘s not just the Lieberman-Lamont race. It‘s all over the country. People are looking for a different direction for the country, a new direction, a change. And I think the Democrats can bring that kind of change, and we have candidates like Ned Lamont all over the country doing that.

MATTHEWS: Would you welcome him back into the party if he joined the Democratic Caucus next November?

DEAN: If Joe were to win, which I don‘t think is going to happen, but if he were to win, we would welcome him back in the Democratic Caucus. We‘re a big tent party, and we accept all kinds of folks, and we‘re happy to have them. But I think Ned Lamont is going to win this race. He is the Democratic candidate. He won a tough primary. He‘s a smart guy.

Ned Lamont lost the race before the primary, when the Democratic leadership didn't denounce Lieberman when he said that if he didn't win the Democratic primary he would run as an independent.

Lieberman has now set the precedent for how centrist Democrats will run nationwide (as independents) if the we, uppity liberals, forget our places and don't sit down and take whatever the Republicans-in-Democratic-clothing tell us is good for us.

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