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Obama confronts Lieberman?
The online/political/gossip world is abuzz with an apparent confrontation between senators Barack Obama and Joe Lieberman during a Senate vote Wednesday.
Josh Marshall with Talking Points Memo, posted on their site that Obama “dragged Lieberman by the hand to a far corner of the Senate chamber and engaged in what appeared to reporters in the gallery as an intense, three-minute conversation.
“While it was unclear what the two were discussing, the body language suggested that Obama was trying to convince Lieberman of something and his stance appeared slightly intimidating.
“Using forceful, but not angry, hand gestures, Obama literally backed up Lieberman against the wall, leaned in very close at times, and appeared to be trying to dominate the conversation, as the two talked over each other in a few instances.
“Still, Obama and Lieberman seemed to be trying to keep the back-and-forth congenial as they both patted each other on the back during and after the exchange.
“Afterwards, Obama smiled and pointed up at reporters peering over the edge of the press gallery for a better glimpse of their interaction.”
Speculation is that the conversation between the two related to Lieberman’s comments on Obama’s speech at AIPAC earlier this week. During a conference call, Lieberman said he was troubled by Obama’s comparison of Iran to the Soviet Union, and that he was right when he said Iran imposed a serious threat.
“Also, he made a major point during the campaign that American foreign policy in recent years has essentially strengthened Iran,” he said, “and at one point he almost seems to suggest that our policy elected Ahmadinejad. I just disagree with that.”
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