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By immediately vowing to run as an independent in last night's concession speech and declaring the Democratic primary merely the "first half" of the campaign, Joe Lieberman seems to have done an effective job of minimizing the impact of what could have been portrayed as an embarrassing defeat. Instead of writing his political obituary today, the story has already shifted to his run as an independent.

The cover of the Washington Post has a photo of a smiling Lieberman waving to the crowd, and the lead story describes how "Lieberman appeared almost exuberant in defeat." The Hartford Courant's story is headlined, "Lieberman Defiant in Defeat." And a survey of stories appearing on Google News reveals that today's coverage is focused on Liberman's filing to run as an independent.

Last week, a poll showed Ned Lamont leading the race by 13 points, and it was pretty much assumed that he was going to win. By coming to within 4 points, Lieberman reached the high-end of expectations.

It's tough to know what will happen between now and November, but Lieberman's defeat last night reminded me of when Bill Clinton's second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary in 1992 prompted the media to dub him "the Comeback Kid."

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Bill Clinton