Joe Conason Gets It

Not that he normally doesn't. Not by a long shot. But he completely understands Al Gore's moving on to endorse someone more closely associated with his principles as they've developed in the last three years:

Gore's epiphany

Tomorrow, someone will probably ask Gore why he assured the nation three years ago that Lieberman was the Democrat best qualified to serve in the Oval Office should any exigency befall President Gore -- but is today less worthy of voter support than the former governor of Vermont.

...his own politics have shifted since 2000, when the experience of losing the presidency he had won seems to have changed him radically. The most obvious evidence of this change during the past year came in his powerful speeches against the war in Iraq and the erosion of civil liberties.

Lieberman may feel betrayed by his ex-running mate's decision, but he and Gore simply have very little in common anymore. Agree with Gore or not, his endorsement of Dean is a principled, brave decision by someone with an intimate understanding of what has gone wrong with the political system to which he dedicated his life.

...he clearly realizes that the hard right poses a real threat to American democratic values. I suspect he also believes that the most effective defense is the kind of grass-roots movement that drives both the Dean campaign and MoveOn.

When he puts his arm around Dean, he may also wish that such an epiphany had occurred while he was still a contender.