Is he toast?

MANIFESTO

This is what one gets for sleeping with an insurance lobbyist:

Connecticut's independent Sen. Joseph Lieberman may have won a round with the Democratic leadership in getting what he wanted on health care reform legislation, but he has come out the loser when it comes to how the state's voters see him, according to a Public Policy Polling survey conducted Jan. 4-5.

Sixty-seven percent disapprove of the job Lieberman is doing while 25 percent approve and 8 percent are undecided.

Making it clear that this negative view of Lieberman is driven by the health care issue, 68 percent disapprove of his actions during the struggle to shape a passable bill while 19 percent approved and 13 percent were undecided.

I have a feeling that Holy Joe's numbers won't get much better in the next 2½ years. I just don't think that the people of Connecticut will ever forgive him for torpedoing a marginally decent health plan. Of course, I may well be projecting.

Nevertheless, it's at best problematic that Connecticut's voters will want to re-elect a septuagenarian who doesn't have their basic interests at heart.

Finding a viable opponent may be an interesting process and certainly can't be predicted until all the state's Democrats decide where they want to end up.

UPDATE — Moulitsas puts in his two cents on the issue.