8:45 PM :: Stephen (contact)

An Unexpected Endorsement: Al Gore may have gone for Dean, but as Instapundit notes, another 2000 candidate has kind words for Joe Lieberman:

When US President George W. Bush visited Canberra in October, he told his friend John Howard that the Democratic candidate who, if he won the primaries, would be his most formidable opponent in the 2004 presidential election was Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman.

What a fantastic irony it would be if the capture of Saddam Hussein this week led to the derailing of former Vermont governor Howard Dean's anti-war candidacy and Bush had to face the formidable Lieberman in November.

One thing you can say about Bush is that he is expert at winning elections and his assessment of Lieberman -- Al Gore's running mate in 2000 and the most hawkish of the Democrats -- is a fascinating insight into the role he thinks national security will play in November's election.

Which sort of makes sense: what other Democrat would have responded to Hussein's capture by saying "Hallelujah, praise the Lord"? Who else can use the line that "I wrote the bill that created the Homeland Security Department," or charge that "If Howard Dean had his way, Saddam Hussein would still be in power today, not in prison, and the world would be a more dangerous place"?

For comparison, a recent cover of the National Review featured a picture of Dean over the headline "Please Nominate This Man," and Karl Rove was overheard saying of Dean supporters, "[T]hat's the one we want... Come on, everybody! Go, Howard Dean!"