Lieberman: I may vote for Republican president

Lieberman: I may vote for Republican president
'Party is important, but more important is the national interest'

Senator Joe Lieberman said Sunday he may vote Republican in next year's presidential campaign, possibly widening a divide between him and Democrats he once represented as the party's vice presidential nominee.

Lieberman, who was elected last November as an Independent after losing the Democratic nomination to Greenwich businessman Ned Lamont, said he will consider all presidential candidates regardless of party.

Asked if he might vote Republican in 2008, Lieberman, the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2000, said, "I am, because we have so much on the line both in terms of the Islamist terrorists, who are an enemy as brutal as the fascists and communists we faced in the last century, and we have great challenges here at home to make our economy continue to produce good jobs, to deal with our crises in health care, education, immigration, energy.

"Party is important, but more important is the national interest," he said on "Fox News Sunday."

He said he will "look at all the candidates and then in the end, regardless of party, decide who I think will be best for the future of our country."

"I agree more often than not with Democrats on domestic policy," Lieberman said. "I agree more often than not with Republicans on foreign and defense policy. I'm an Independent."

"So I'm open to supporting a Democrat, Republican or even an Independent, if there's a strong one," Lieberman said. "Stay tuned."

A call to a spokesman for Lieberman was not immediately returned.