Reid Won’t ‘Threaten’ Lieberman for Attacking Obama

Despite Sen. Joe Lieberman’s (I-Conn.) recent attacks directed at Barack Obama on Iran, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) says he won’t “threaten” Lieberman to keep his hands off the Democratic nominee because his vote is crucial to the thin majority Democrats hold in the Senate.

“Let’s stop and think a little bit,” Reid said, The Hill’s Manu Raju tells The Briefing Room.

“What did we vote on yesterday? hmm. We voted on the budget. Without Lieberman’s vote, the budget would not have passed. Without Lieberman, the budget would not have been written. So I think everybody should understand that Joe Lieberman had made a decision on issues relating to the war. And he’s decided to back John McCain. But Joe Lieberman is an important vote for this caucus.”

Asked if Lieberman should not be criticizing Obama, Reid said, “I’ve had conversations with Joe Lieberman at some length. I’m not going to discuss the conversations here. But I think the discussions he had with Obama yesterday and the discussions that he had with me had been fruitful. And we’ll let the future decide what it’s going to be.”

“But I’m not about to threaten anybody at this stage,” Reid said, indicating Lieberman’s seat as chair of Senate Homeland Security & Government Affairs is safe.