It does not seem like a question of whether retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman will support a Republican in the race for his Senate seat, but which Republican he will support. Which one would annoy Democrats, the people he represented as a United States vice presidential candidate in 2000, the absolute most? This is a call he cannot afford to get wrong. Joe Lieberman is on the eve of great decisions.

The New York Times reports that Lieberman has been taking meetings with the two main Republican primary challengers: Wrasslin' executive Linda McMahon, who's giving it another go, and former Rep. Chris Shays, an old-timey New England moderate conservative like Lieberman, but one who understands which political party he's supposed to be in.

For the Democratic field in Connecticut, though, this is a great relief! What if Lieberman had one of those occasional days where he wakes up on the liberal side of the bed and endorsed one of them? That would be a total kiss of death:

In the meantime, some Connecticut Democrats who are eyeing the party's nomination for his seat are not particularly interested in getting Mr. Lieberman's support. They seem wary of associating politically with a man who went from being the Democratic vice-presidential candidate in 2000 to backing Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, over Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential race.

Susan Bysiewicz, a former Connecticut secretary of state who is seeking the Democratic nomination for Senate, noted in an interview that Mr. Lieberman was unpopular with rank-and-file Democrats.

"Senator Lieberman's endorsement would not be helpful," she said, adding that she believed he was more closely identified with the Republicans these days.

Representative Christopher S. Murphy, a three-term Democrat who is also running for Mr. Lieberman's seat, said, "I'm not sure his support is relevant."

Be quiet, fools! If Lieberman hears in the news that endorsing a Democrat would be the best way to screw over a Democrat, then that's just what he'll do.

[Image via AP]