5 years ago 
 
 Washington (CNN) - Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, tells CNN he believes his good friend Joe Lieberman would make a good defense secretary for President Obama, calling him "one of the most informed members of the Senate on national security issues and homeland security issues." 
 
 McCain was answering a question from CNN in a telephone interview about whether the president should consider picking Lieberman for the post, since Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he wants to leave this year. 
 
 
 
 "You know its funny you mention it," responded McCain, "I really hope that the president would consider him. I hadn't thought about it but I sure hope, whatever happens, he will play a major role on national security issues," said McCain. 
 
 Lieberman, who already had a rocky relationship with Democrats after running for his Senate seat in 2006 as Independent after losing a Democratic primary, angered many in his former party by campaigning constantly with McCain in his 2008 presidential bid. 
 
 Fury at Lieberman erupted in Democratic circles when he spoke at the Republican convention and not only expressed support for McCain, but also said he did not think Obama was ready to be president. 
 
 McCain suggested that shouldn't stop the president from considering Lieberman for his cabinet now. 
 
 "I know one thing, that the president has reached out to people that otherwise, maybe a couple of years ago, he wouldn't have given serious consideration," said McCain, "but I can't divine the views of the president." 
 
 With sadness in his voice, the Arizona Republican called Lieberman "the most decent man that I have ever known in the Senate. He lives his religion and is the most generous spirit." 
 
 "He's not going to go into retirement, he just wants to do other things, and I'll miss him every single day," said McCain. 
 
 McCain said that Lieberman told him that he is "tired" after 40 years in public service, and admitted that "he knew he had a tough re-election fight" had he chosen to run for a fifth Senate term. 
 
 McCain said he will miss their close friendship and camaraderie in the Senate, but also said Lieberman's retirement will create a "vacancy on national security issues, the Middle East in particular." 
 
 In his 2008 presidential campaign, McCain came close to tapping the 2000 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee as his GOP running mate. 
 
 "Certainly he was very seriously considered, and we chose Sarah Palin instead, but certainly had our most serious consideration and a lot of that had to do with my friendship and respect for him," McCain recounted to CNN. ||||| Joe Lieberman, Hero of the Democratic Base 
 
 Well, not exactly. But it will become evident in the post-mortem reporting that the repeal of the ban on gays serving in the military, which cleared its last real hurdle with a 63-33 cloture vote in the Senate this morning, could not have happened without the senior Senator from Connecticut. It was Lieberman who rallied the Republicans needed to clear the 60 vote threshold, working particularly hard to win and keep his close friend Susan Collins of Maine. 
 
 This may confuse those on the left who are more familiar with Lieberman's support for John McCain and Sarah Palin in the 2008 presidential election or his hardline stance on the war in Iraq and counterterrorism than they are with his positions on labor and civil rights dating back to his days as attorney general in Connecticut. But Lieberman's conflicted history with the Democratic party is a rich source of study for those who want to take the time to get beyond the caricature. See these profiles for a start. 
 
 With all that has been written about the overdetermination of national politics by money and special interests, Lieberman is perhaps the best example in the current Senate of the fact that individual character and belief still make an enormous difference, for good or ill, in a body with only 100 members.
– Democrats' love-hate relationship with Joe Lieberman is definitely on the warm and fuzzy side today after his legislative maneuvering to get Don't Ask, Don't Tell repealed. Lieberman, the Democrat-turned-independent who campaigned for John McCain, was all thumbs-ups and smiles after his role in helping secure the necessary Republican votes. “He’s certainly one of my heroes today,” an official with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network tells Politico. "This would have not happened without Sen. Lieberman.” He still hasn't decided (or at least announced) whether he's running for re-election in 2012, and he said Friday that if he does run, it would likely be as an independent, notes the Hill. But if his DADT efforts put Democrats back in his camp, who knows... In the meantime, he's winning praise like this from Massimo Calabresi in Time: "With all that has been written about the overdetermination of national politics by money and special interests, Lieberman is perhaps the best example in the current Senate of the fact that individual character and belief still make an enormous difference, for good or ill, in a body with only 100 members."