Smokin’ Joe

A few reasons why this photo from Saturday’s landmark civil rights breakthrough distinguishes itself:

1. Joe-mentum, very much out front here, throws off his sidekick status to bury McCain on DADT. (The newswire has a couple versions of this going around.)

2. How fitting that the “flag inflation” in the background does, for a change, embody the magnitude of this victory for the country and for democracy. Now that’s “Mission Accomplished.”

3. Lieberman is one of the eagles.

4. A little irony about the thumbs up is that all those Progressives most inclined to share it are Joe’s least favorite fans.

5. What’s the term for that expression? Kvelling?

6. A reinterpretation of what it means to be “in the closet.”

7. Reid, ever the parliamentarian, offers a great contrast here. Self-effacing as he is, you don’t always see him coming.

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(caption: Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images. Senator Joseph Lieberman (I-CT) (L) gives a thumbs up while arriving with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and others for a press conference on a procedural vote on a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ repeal on Capitol Hill December 18, 2010 in Washington, DC. The Senate passed cloture on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011 and is expected to vote for final passage on the bill later today.)