"Look...I was in the civil rights movement..."

Creepy Joe™ Lieberman is profiled, er, skewered in a New York Magazine piece which tries to understand his journey from liberal Democrat to hawkish indy-Republicrat. The piece is entitled Joe Vengence.

One of the most telling quotes is about race. When asked about Obama as a candidate, he doesn't mention his education, his experience, his charisma or his amazing rise to prominence. No, he mentions his race.

“Look,” he tells me, “I like Obama, I was in the civil-rights movement, I went to Mississippi to register voters. I’m not going to attack Senator Obama.”

So, it's clear, Lieberman sees Obama first, not as a candidate, or a colleague in the Senate, but as an African-American. It's the most insidious kind of racism, respectful racism. And, of course, then to say, he isn't going to attack Obama, when he spends every day doing quite the opposite.

The article also notes a major Lieberman defection. His trusted executive assistant, Melissa Winter, has quit her job with Lieberman to work for the Obama campaign.