Liberals in Connecticut may have won the battle tonight by choosing Democrat Ned Lamont as their U.S. Senate nominee, but they did the GOP a huge favor, ensuring Connecticut will be a distraction in November.

Although most Democrats will almost certainly rally behind Lamont, the dynamics of the general election will keep reporters busy from now until Election Day. Democrats who want to make this election all about Republicans will now be forced to deal with a Lieberman-Lamont battle that will serve as an unnecessary distraction for a party that can't settle on a winning message.

As HUMAN EVENTS editorialized today, Joe Lieberman is a rare Democrat who has stood by his vote to support the war in Iraq. In his concession speech tonight, Lieberman showed no sign of abandoning that view, meaning that others like him (Hillary Clinton, for instance) will be forced to engage in a debate about the war they'd rather not be having.