Holy Joe Lieberman finds the perfect vehicle for his accumulated, er, talents

Isn't it about time we had some phony bipartisan foreign policy?

by Ken

What's most exciting about this headline reproduced from a press release from the American Enterprise Institute?



Is it the thrilling news itself? (Stop the presses!)

Is it the thrill-inducing tension of the head itself? (Can't you just tell they've got a pile-up of J-school grads there at AEI?)

No, what I like best is the pretense that what's nothing more than a boilerplate press release is in fact a think piece by former AZ Sen. Jon Kyl. Why, there's even a phony-baloney "About the Author" photo:

Wouldn't you buy used foreign-policy "ideas" from this man?

And here's what Senator Jon, er, didn't write:

Washington, DC (March 11, 2013) – American Enterprise Institute (AEI) president Arthur Brooks announced today that former Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman will join AEI Visiting Fellow Jon Kyl as co-chair of the American Internationalism Project, an important new effort from AEI's Marilyn Ware Center for Security Studies. The Project's focus will be to rebuild and reshape a bipartisan consensus around American global leadership and engagement.

"Senator Joseph Lieberman’s knowledge, deep commitment and vision for American greatness is all too rare in Washington," said AEI president Arthur C. Brooks. "The American Internationalism Project, under the leadership of Senator Lieberman and Senator Jon Kyl, is critical to opening a discussion about the challenges facing America in the coming decades--and strategizing about how to meet them."

"Opinion leaders in both political parties seem much less willing to support US involvement around the world and the military requirements of an engaged United States," said Kyl. "This project will help us persuasively make the case for such a role and concomitant military strength to keep the United States positioned to protect our vital interests."

"There is an urgent need to rebuild a bipartisan -- indeed non-political -- consensus for American diplomatic, economic, and military leadership in the world," said Lieberman. "That's why I am grateful to AEI for initiating and sponsoring this project and why I look forward to leading it with my friend Jon Kyl."

The world is as complex and dangerous as it has been in many decades, but fiscal constraints, weariness with war and isolationism are eroding the American will to lead. The American Internationalism Project will - through a series of working groups, reports and conferences - work to renew the foundations of American internationalism and the commitment to political and economic freedom that has been the hallmark of U.S. leadership for more than half a century.

For additional information on the American Internationalism Project or other media inquiries please contact AEI Media Services at mediaservices@aei.org or 202-862-5829

TO BE SERIOUS FOR A MOMENT . . .

What kind of world would this be if the establishment didn't take care of its own? If, after a political lifetime's worth of dishonorable service, a past-his-prime servant couldn't count on finding a cushy ass-parking place amidst the exploded pantheon of government sinecures and butt-cushioning NGOs?

For "Holy Joe" Lieberman, the far-right-wing zealot who made such a notable career pretending to be a merely-near-right-wing avatar of "nonpartisanship," where better to land than in the bosom of the merely-moderately-extremist think tank the American Enterprise Institute? Oh, they're by and large pretty far right at AEI. They just don't let it get in the way of business.

The new AEI gig for Holy Joe is, well, everything we could hope for. It combines his familiar expertise at foreign policy (cf. His Holiness on Iraq) and his renowned fluency with bipartisanship (cf. His Holiness as a lap-stooge of the Senate Republicans). Probably Joe and his pal Jon won't actually have "tip jars" on their sidewalk foreign-policy stand, but when you're dealing with AEI folk, everyone knows where to deposit the shekels. And for the Lieberman share, the lovely Hadassah will as usual be manning the back seat of the get-away vehicle.

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