We've Got Waxman, but Where's Lieberman?

WaPo has an in-depth profile of the investigative team and priorities of Henry Waxman, chairman of the House Oversight Committee and chief White House gadfly. Missing from the story, however, is any comparison to Waxman's Senate counterpart, and how he might be exercising his oversight responsibility. As it happens, it's Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs Committee, a man who becomes “angry when I hear about fraud or corruption in the spending of American dollars,” but somehow can't find the time to make it a priority.

TPM Muckraker caught on to this discrepancy by quoting Roll Call on the subject of why Lieberman has not used his committee chairmanship to conduct any oversight of the Iraq war:

“You’ve got to set your own priorities, and it was clear to me that other committees were going to pick this up,” said Lieberman ...

Still, critics say they don’t understand why Lieberman has not followed Waxman’s example, and they say his support for the war should make him more likely, not less, to hold oversight hearings.

“He supports the war. So why does he not investigate the things that undermine the mission?” asked Charlie Cray, director of the nonpartisan watchdog Center for Corporate Policy.

Worse, Lieberman defended his bizarre 2006 re-election bid by saying he was anxious to get back to wielding the chairman's gavel.