could be prosecuted for war crimes

* froomkin:

"White House officials are apparently afraid that at some point in the future (presumably, when Democrats are in charge of the Justice Department) they could be prosecuted for war crimes. So they're trying to change the law."

* reed hundt:

"The Clintons, who commendably showed their personal loyalty to Joe in the primary, can take the lead in raising money for the Lamont candidacy. So can all the Democratic would-be contenders for President. Everyone should pitch in, and quickly. There's a chance that Senator Lieberman would exit with the grace and wisdom that characterized virtually all of his public service, and that chance will be maximized if he can see the money pouring in to the Lamont coffers, and drying up on his side."

* nyt-ed:

"The rebellion against Mr. Lieberman was actually an uprising by that rare phenomenon, irate moderates. They are the voters who have been unnerved over the last few years as the country has seemed to be galloping in a deeply unmoderate direction. A war that began at the president’s choosing has degenerated into a desperate, bloody mess that has turned much of the world against the United States. The administration’s contempt for international agreements, Congressional prerogatives and the authority of the courts has undermined the rule of law abroad and at home.

Yet while all this has been happening, the political discussion in Washington has become a captive of the Bush agenda. Traditional beliefs like every person’s right to a day in court, or the conviction that America should not start wars it does not know how to win, wind up being portrayed as extreme. The middle becomes a place where senators struggle to get the president to volunteer to obey the law when the mood strikes him. Attempting to regain the real center becomes a radical alternative.

When Mr. Lieberman told The Washington Post, “I haven’t changed. Events around me have changed,” he actually put his finger on his political problem. His constituents felt that when the White House led the country into a disastrous international crisis and started subverting the nation’s basic traditions, Joe Lieberman should have changed enough to take a lead in fighting back."