"Lieberman will be elected as an independent.
He will then stay in the Senate as a member of the Democrat Caucus."
Don't be so sure of this.
The Democrats are going to slime him this election.
He will be elected by Republicans and Independents.
He's already independent enough to go against the party line - that's why he lost last night and will be elected as an independent.
Don't be so sure that with a stubborn man like Lieberman it's all a ruse to get back to the Senate and into the cozy Democratic caucus. He is about to watch his "friends" stick knives in his back, in public. And he is going to find out he has a lot of friends in the Independent electorate and among Republicans.
He may vote for the Democrats on some things, but I wouldn't expect an Independent Joe Lieberman, beholden to no one, to be a cooperative party man any longer. He's at his most uncomfortable when he's bending to political realities. If he is elected, without party affiliation, in his own right, he is far more likely to be a principled pain-in-the-ass to both parties, and far less likely to try to morph back into being a cozy Democrat.
If he were just a normal politician, he wouldn't have lost last night. He has a lot of spine. I disagree with him fundamentally on some pretty profound things. But he is no pushover, and I doubt he'll be a reliable vote for the Democrats once he is in office as an Independent. He'll be a reliable vote for what Joe Lieberman believes in.
And that's a damned sight better than what the Democrats believe in.
An Independent Joe Lieberman will be a much improved Joe Lieberman.
Maybe he's setting himself up for a McCain/Lieberman 3rd party ticket.