With Holy Joe cozily lodged in all but name in the bowels of the War Party, Senate and other Dems face a gut check. Ah, quit kidding--a GUT check?

The first Democratic mouth most of us heard belonged to House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, responding to John King of CNN about "Holy Joe" Lieberman's endorsement of John McCain for president:

Let me say that I'm sorry that Joe felt called upon to do what he did, but our Democratic candidate, as we have done in the Congress -- the first bill that we passed through this House of Representatives was the 9/11 Commission recommendation bill to keep our country safe. Last night we passed $31 billion in additional funding so that we could confront terrorism and defeat the Taliban, which was, after all, the site from which this country was attacked and which, frankly, we have distracted our attention from.

And as far as Iraq goes, we need to defeat terrorists. When we've said we ought to redeploy, we have made the caveat that we ought to make sure that we continue to confront and defeat terrorism. So I think Senator Lieberman, who I -- is a good friend of mine, I respect him-- but I think in this instance he is wrong. And our Democratic candidate is going to make sure that the American public knows that we are going to be committed to the safety of this country, to the safety of our people, and to the defeat of terrorists.

Whoa there, Steny, don't get carried away!

Leader Hoyer was referring, of course, to His Holiness's claim that no Democrat could be trusted to continue the unmitigatedly catastrophic bungling in Iraq to which Holy Joe has from the outset committed his sclerotic heart and putrid soul. Myself, I'm more inclined to credit the other reason His Holiness let slip: that none of the Democratic presidential candidates wanted his endorsement.

Which by itself gives us reason to feel a little better about all the Democratic presidential candidates.

Now I don't know about you, but I would have figured that after a betrayal of his party of this magnitude, Holy Joe would have Democratic blood boiling. Accordingly, a friend gathered this sampling of quotes from prominent Dems:

"I have the greatest respect for Joe, but I simply have to disagree with his decision to endorse Senator McCain."
--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada

"Everyone has the right to make their own decisions.... I wish he hadn't done what he did, but he's a friend of mine."
--Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota

"Joe has voted with us on most domestic issues."
--Sen. Charles Schumer of New York

"I respect Senator McCain for being a great patriot ... but so many of the issues that matter to Connecticut voters ... are all issues that Senator Lieberman has supported and McCain hasn't."
--Connecticut Democratic chair Nancy DiNardo

"It doesn't surprise me at all--I've known him 30 years. It doesn't surprise me."
--former President Bill Clinton

"Oh my God, no. Really?"
--anonymous Lieberman staffer, CNN.com, December 17th

Sen. Joe Lieberman's endorsement of Republican Sen. John McCain for president earlier this week rattled some of his Democratic colleagues, one of whom said he was "speechless" after his conference mate announced his choice.
--anonymous Democratic Senator

"I am very saddened by Senator Lieberman's choice, and profoundly disagree with it.... We need to elect a Democratic president in 2008."
--DLC founder-CEO and legendary centrist Al From [right]

And (says our friend) the best for last--

"Joe described his role in the party as that of an eccentric uncle, but I think it's more like having an uncle in the mob.... People are ashamed, but they're also afraid. It's not a happy thing for the family. His fellow senators are like volcano worshipers. They just know if he blows, then there's really trouble."
--former Connecticut Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill Curry

Fer cripes' sake, freakin' Al From? A man who travels with compass and protractor to make sure that he's always at dead center (on a spectrum that often seems to range from Tom Tancredo on the right to, oh, Wile E. Coyote on the left)? The only Democrat in sight with the balls to say the simple truth about the Holy One?