John Nichols: Joe Lieberman just doesn't get it

"There are millions of Americans who want an alternative to the Republicans on issues of trade, foreign policy and many other issues. But in too many contests, Democrats are not offering voters that alternative."

Over time, all of the contenders for the party's 2004 Democratic presidential nomination have come to the conclusion that Feingold reached. Except one.

Harry Truman warned that, when given a choice between a Republican and a Democrat imitating a Republican, voters would not hesitate to vote for the real thing. And, with his support for the Bush administration's agenda on foreign policy and trade - fundamental issues not just for Democratic activists but for millions of disenchanted citizens who need to be drawn to the polls if the Democratic nominee is to prevail in November 2004 - Lieberman has positioned himself as precisely the pale imitation of Bush that grass-roots Democrats fear will doom them to a repeat of 2002.