He's conspicuously not closing the door on a party-switch:
"I'm not ruling it out but I hope I don't get to that point," he said. "And I must say -- and with all respect to the Republicans who supported me in Connecticut -- nobody ever said, 'We're doing this because we want you to switch over. We want you to do what you think is right and good for our state and country,' and I appreciate that."
But why switch? Isn't he kinda the king right now? And, he's got that whole "maverick" vibe going on, which is so the new hotness these days.
He's calling himself an Independent Democrat now, but has consistently said he'll caucus with the Dems. He always mentions, however, how his seniority and committee chairmanships influenced his decision. It's never yet been a discussion of the Democratic Party's principles and ideals, I'd guess because Joe is a Democrat from a different time and a different party, and finds the principles and ideals of the new party working against him quite openly in the form of the netroots and their chosen ones.
He also acknowledges that things could be "awkward" with those Dems who worked against him and for Lamont in Connecticut.
I wonder how this sits with him. Pelosi backs Murtha over Steny Hoyer for Majority Leader? See, people? We weren't fearmongering. No need to monger. The fear is real.
Oooh, and troop reductions in Iraq within mere months! Presumably, when they get home, Majority Leader Murtha will be waiting to call them cold-blooded murderers, perhaps from the floor of the House. Yikes.
Allah wonders if Joe will remain anti-cut-and-run, as he was earlier this year.
We'll see what happens. Luckily, Joementum is one of the few guys in Washington who doesn't scare me to death when he says things like this (emphasis mine):
"I am going to Washington beholden to no political group except the people of Connecticut and, of course, my conscience," he said.