Enemy in the ranks

The Connecticut senator has taken other shots at Obama's Middle East policy positions. He wrote in the Wall Street Journal last month that Obama has proposed a "blanket policy of meeting personally as president, without preconditions, in his first year in office, with the leaders of the most vicious, anti-American regimes on the planet."

He also praised Bush for his remarks in Israel last month, in which the president chastised leaders who would negotiate with "terrorists and radicals," calling such moves the "false comfort of appeasement." Many took the president's comments as a direct attack on Obama.

"My impression is that Jewish Democrats, even the solid pro-Israel Democrats, are pissed off with" Lieberman, said Ron Kampeas, Washington bureau chief for JTA, a wire service for Jewish newspapers.

Lieberman could be filling a void in the Jewish Republican world. There are few prominent Jewish Republicans in office, and even fewer with the national spotlight Lieberman enjoys. It is unlikely that Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., who faces a tough re-election challenge this year, or Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., who is battling cancer, will campaign for McCain as much as Lieberman will. And there is only one Jewish Republican in the House, Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va.

Having Lieberman on the trail for McCain could sway undecided Jewish voters, especially in places like the swing state of Florida. Lieberman has the potential to play the same role former New York City Mayor Ed Koch did when he endorsed Bush in 2004 over his party's nominee.

Video   'More reconciliation in Baghdad than Washington' April 8: Sen. Joe Lieberman discusses the statements made by presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton during quesitioning of Gen. David Petraeus about the US troop levels in Iraq. MSNBC

"I think he'll have more influence," Koch said. "His name is more well known than mine, and his involvement in the Senate on so many issues makes him a much more effective speaker than myself."

Koch spoke to Jewish groups on Bush's behalf throughout 2004, focusing primarily on New York transplants in Southern Florida and senior citizens. He joked that during that time, he often needed to remind voters they were not voting against Franklin Roosevelt by choosing a Republican.

Koch said his influence — which the Bush administration praised for helping push them over the top in Florida — came from being an independent voice respected by American Jews. Lieberman could have the same effect.

"I think that his endorsement, whatever endorsement he makes on any issue, is highly regarded, especially in the Jewish community," Koch said.

But others suggest Lieberman's name has been sullied by his embrace of McCain. To these observers, Lieberman has lost much of the heroic stature he once enjoyed, along with the sympathy he garnered after losing the presidential race in 2000, the presidential primary in 2004 and his Senate primary in 2006.

"I know, among the Democrats, he's completely lost credibility for leaving the party," Kampeas said. "He actually had sympathy after 2006, but in embracing McCain, he has really pissed off a lot of Democrats."

Jewish Democrats say they will showcase other Jewish senators who are actively backing Obama and perhaps paint Lieberman as a Republican in Democratic clothing. But it may be hard to attack someone who once held their highest esteem.

"I have great respect for him," Footlik said. "I just disagree with him on this."

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