Analyst: Obama fears punishing Lieberman would make him a GOP hero

In the wake of the presidential election, one of the most vexing problems for Senate Democrats is how to deal with Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), who not only supported the candidacy of John McCain but broke earlier promises by engaging in negative campaigning against Barack Obama.Obama himself reportedly has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid he would like to see Lieberman remain within the Democratic caucus. Political analyst Howard Fineman explained to MSNBC's Keith Olbermann on Monday why he believes Obama's position makes sense."It's clear to me that Barack Obama's going to operate as the good cop, surrounded by a whole squad car of bad cops," Fineman began. "He's going to be the one saying -- no-drama Obama -- 'Let's save our fight and our fire for the tough battles. After all, Joe Lieberman votes with the Democrats on domestic policy 90% of the time. And let's not make a hero of him by trying to kick him out of the party.'" LinkHere