Lieberman - Question for Democrats

I read a couple of articles today that outline the battle lines being drawn within the Democratic party.

The ABC article states that Connecticut Democrats ignored the long-term progressive record of Lieberman, and ousted him on one very narrow issue. The writer hopes that Lieberman is successful in his independent bid in order to demonstrate that you do not have to polarize to be elected today. http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=2291284&page=1

The other article, from a liberal blog in San Francisco said that Lieberman was punished for being out of step with the majority of his party, and that his loss is a good thing, and that his running as an independent is a mistake. http://www.beyondchron.org/articles/Sore_Loserman_Why_Lieberman_Must_Drop_His_Independent_Bid_3561.html

Now, by this point, you all know that I consider myself in the center of the political spectrum. If I were in Connecticut, Lieberman is precisely the kind of guy I would want as a Senator. However, I would like to see some of the folks who are more hard core Democrats on this blog weigh in on the issue.