SPARED

...at least if Robert Novak is correct:

Close advisers of Sen. John McCain say there is no possibility that Independent Democratic Sen. Joseph Lieberman would be McCain's vice presidential running mate on the Republican ticket.

... Lieberman still votes the straight Democratic line in the Senate on nearly all issues except Iraq, and McCain's advisers feel Lieberman never would be accepted by the Republican Party.

Well, I thought it might happen, but McCain would need a running mate who's never deviated from GOP Correct Thinking, so I guess this makes sense.

I'm sticking by my predictions that Joe will (a) endorse whoever the GOP nominee is and (b) give a prime-time speech at the Republican convention.