Not the time to draw lines

Published Tuesday, November 11, 2008

In these days just after a national election, sometimes it’s good to take a look back at what the founding fathers had to say about the process — just to keep in touch.

Now that the junior Senator from Illinois is the president-elect, some in the Democratic Party want to become heavy handed with those who did not support Barack Obama. More specifically, national some national Democrats want to oust Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman from the Democratic caucus because he endorsed John McCain.

Here’s what George Washington warned the country about political parties, even before they existed:

“They serve to organize faction, to give it an artificial and extraordinary force; to put, in the place of the delegated will of the nation, the will of a party, often a small but artful and enterprising minority of the community; and, according to the alternate triumphs of different parties, to make the public administration the mirror of the ill-concerted and incongruous projects of faction, rather than the organ of consistent and wholesome plans digested by common counsels, and modified by mutual interests.”

It appears President-elect Obama has taken Washington’s stand in this matter. He has told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid he’s not interesting in Democrats kicking out Lieberman, but he also said he won’t get into a fight over whether the Democrats should take away Lieberman’s chairmanship of a key committee for supporting McCain for president.

Obama has reached across the aisle in several ways. Some of those considered for posts in his administration lean more toward the conservative end than others. He received the endorsement of a Republican during the election — Gen. Colin Powell — and said Powell would have a role in his administration.

The country needs leadership too desperately for leadership to become mired in partisan battles. Save that for the next round of elections.