Joe Lieberman's Judas moment at the Xcel Tuesday night might have ticked off Democrats and the Obama camp — especially for the Colbert-like "truthiness" of some of his clams — but local elephants were all smiles about the political one-night stand on the morning after.

"It was compelling to us on the floor," said Dave Senjem, a GOP delegate from Rochester who is the state Senate's minority leader. "The Democrats have gotta be thinking now. It was a powerful conversation from a Democrat to Democrats about not voting for Obama."

Actually, if some Republicans think McCain is a RINO, the Dems now have their DINO — a Democrat In Name Only.

"I suppose it's a courageous thing for him to do," Senjem continued outside a ballroom at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown St. Paul, where the local delegation gathered for its morning reception. "We've always known that John McCain and Joe Lieberman were close. On major issues and especially in Iraq, McCain and Lieberman have walked hand in hand."

Marty Seifert, a delegate from Marshall who is the state House minority leader, is not exactly known for embracing any kind of Democrat. But, Joe is apparently all right with him. "It was tremendous. I guess I'll have to throw my 'Sore Loserman' sign away," Seifert said, adding that he could read the teleprompter from where he sat, and that Lieberman ad-libbed a few lines of his speech.

"He was very well-received by the delegates," Seifert concluded. "He spoke better at our convention than he did at his own in 2000." — G.R. Anderson Jr.