Joe Lieberman is fast becoming the Democrats' public enemy No. 1.

The four-term Connecticut senator, who came tantalizingly close to being Al Gore's vice president in 2000, not only has been campaigning for his pal, presumed Republican nominee John McCain, now he's publicly criticizing the Democrats' standard-bearer, Barack Obama. Lieberman has strayed before, most notably switching from Democrat to independent in 2006 to hold onto his Senate seat after a Democratic primary loss.

But the latest betrayal has upset Democrats, who often answer in clipped but polite tones when asked about Lieberman. The reason:The independent still caucuses with the Democrats on most issues except the Iraq war, and he holds their slim political majority in his hands.

"There's a commonly held hope that he's not going to be transformed into an attack dog for Republicans," said Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., an Obama supporter.

Lieberman has wasted no time in questioning Obama's positions on Iran and Israel, two topics on which Lieberman and McCain agree.

Just one day after Obama clinched his party's nomination, Lieberman joined Republicans on a McCain campaign teleconference call assailing Obama following his foreign policy address to a leading Jewish group.

Lieberman accused Obama of blaming U.S. policies for "essentially sort of strengthening" Iran.

"If Israel is in danger today, it's not because of American foreign policy, which has been strongly supportive of Israel in every way," he said. "It is not because of what we have done in Iraq. It is because Iran is a fanatical terrorist, expansionist state."

Later that day, during a budget vote in the Senate, Obama led Lieberman to a corner of the Senate floor for a pointed private conversation. Without elaborating, Obama told reporters the chat was about politics. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had a similar private conversation with Lieberman.

Obama making imprint on DNC organization

Barack Obama is set to ask the Democratic National Committee to no longer accept money from federal lobbyists or political actions committees, CNN has learned from sources at the DNC and the Obama campaign.

CNN has also learned Obama will ask one of his top operatives, Paul Tewes, to help the DNC with its fundraising operation, which has lagged far behind its Republican counterpart this year.

Tewes will be the Illinois senator's eyes and ears at the DNC and see to it that the party and the candidate are in sync, according to sources.

Obama to campaign in Virginia with Webb

Newly minted Democratic nominee Barack Obama will kick off his general election campaign on Thursday with a pair of campaign stops in Virginia, signaling that the Illinios senator thinks he can turn the once solidly-red state into a Democratic pick-up this fall.

The day will culminate with an evening rally in northern Virginia, where Sen. Jim Webb, often mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate, will make his first campaign appearance with Obama.

Virginia has not voted for a Democrat in November since Lyndon Johnson took the state in 1964, but for more than a year, Obama's campaign has cited the state's 13 electoral votes as part of their argument that he can re-shuffle the electoral map this fall. Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor said the commonwealth will play a "pivotal role" in the general election.

Oprah 'doing the happy dance' over Obama win

Oprah Winfrey is ecstatic over Barack Obama’s apparent victory in this year’s Democratic presidential race.

"I'm euphoric, I've been doing the happy dance all day,” she said in a statement released Wednesday I'm so proud of Barack and Michelle and what this means for all of us, the new possibilities for our country.”

The talk show host, who campaigned for Obama in several key early primary states, added: “And if he wants me to, I'm ready to go door to door."

Clinton message: She'll do what it takes in November

 Sen. Hillary Clinton is poised to deliver a message Tuesday "that she will do whatever it takes" to put a Democrat in the White House — a message that Barack Obama insiders say indicates she would accept an offer to be Obama's running mate if asked.

"In her speech tomorrow night, she will convey the message that first and foremost she is committed to Democrats winning in November and will do whatever she's asked to do," a close friend and adviser of the former first lady, who speaks with her regularly and is privy to her deliberations, told CNN Monday.

"She will do whatever it takes to bring the party together to win and whatever is asked of her to make sure the Republicans are defeated."

That message has been conveyed to the Obama campaign via informal channels, according to Obama insiders who said the message is a signal that she would be willing to serve as his vice president.

Both the Clinton and Obama campaigns told CNN that there have been no formal discussions between the campaigns.

Obama insiders are split over whether considering Clinton to be on the ticket is a good idea.

Obama finale at GOP convention site

Barack Obama will close out the primary season on Tuesday with a campaign event at the site of the Republican convention.

His campaign announced on Saturday that the Illinois senator will team up with his wife Michelle at a rally at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, the same arena which will house the 2008 Republican National Convention in September.

Obama's rally will take place as Montana and South Dakota close out the Democratic primary season on Tuesday. Thirty-one delegates are at stake in those two states.

Minnesota is considered a battleground — or swing — state that both parties will fight for in the general election.

Obama about to clinch victory, aide says

Barack Obama will formally capture the Democratic presidential nomination soon after next week's final primaries, the Illinois senator's top campaign aide is predicting.

In an interview with the New York Daily News, Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod said that after the June 3 primaries in South Dakota and Montana, Obama will "be at the number we need to claim the nomination."

"We're very close now," Axelrod said. "When the primaries end, I think, we'll be where we need to be. … We'll be at the number we need to claim the nomination."

According to CNN's latest estimate, Obama is now 52 delegates short of clinching the Democratic nomination while Clinton is 246 delegates short of the magic number. There are 86 pledged delegates up for grabs in the remaining three contests. Just over 200 superdelegates also have not publicly declared who they are supporting.

Obama is unlikely to clinch the nomination with pledged delegates alone, but his campaign has said it expects enough superdelegates will declare their support of the Illinois senator soon after the final two primaries.

Axelrod's comments come two days after Bill Clinton suggested some are trying to “push and pressure and bully” superdelegates to make up their minds prematurely.

The former president also suggested Sunday that if the New York senator ended the primary season with an edge in the popular vote, it would be a significant development.

"If you vote for her and she does well in Montana and she does well in Puerto Rico, when this is over she will be ahead in the popular vote,” said Clinton.

Obama begins VP search process

Barack Obama is quietly beginning his search for a running mate.

A veteran Democratic activist in Washington confirms that former Fannie Mae CEO Jim Johnson has accepted Obama's request for him to begin a screening/selection process for the No. 2 spot.

The news was first reported by the Associated Press.

Johnson performed the same role in 2004 and 1984 for then-Democratic presidential nominees John Kerry and Walter Mondale.

The activist, a party operative who has been involved in democratic presidential campaigns and conventions dating back more than 20 years, said it was his information that the process was "at a very early point but that within the campaign itself they have been informally thinking about it for awhile."

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton declined to comment on the report.

Why is Hillary Clinton still in the race?

Barack Obama took another big step toward becoming the Democratic presidential nominee last night. He now has a majority of the pledged delegates – which means it is now impossible for Hillary Clinton to catch him. He also reminded those superdelegates who remain uncommitted that if they endorse Clinton now, they will be going against the will of the voters.

None of this matters to Hillary Clinton. She's staying in, telling supporters she's determined to see every vote counted. She's $19.5 million in debt, hopelessly behind and probably further damaging the party's chances in November, but no big deal. This is all about Hillary.

The New York Times reports she has told her inner circle she thinks she can still be the nominee. And, if she isn't, she can still accomplish some final goals.

Obama willing to ‘go more than halfway’ on FL, MI

Obama senior adviser David Axelrod says the Illinois senator’s campaign is “open to compromise” and willing to cede Hillary Clinton the advantage in talks over the seating of the Florida and Michigan delegations at the Democratic National Convention this summer.

"We are willing to go more than half way. We're willing to work to make sure that we can achieve a compromise," Axelrod tells National Public Radio’s Michele Norris in a Wednesday evening interview. "And I guess the question is: is Senator Clinton's campaign willing to do the same?"

Clinton spent Wednesday in Florida highlighting her push for full delegations from both states to be seated in accordance with their January votes, which were not sanctioned by the Democratic National Committee because of the early primary dates. Her campaign has charged the Obama team with blocking a compromise on the issue – a claim that campaign has denied.

"Well obviously, any compromise is going to involve some give, and that means if there's something on the table, we're willing to consider it," Axelrod told NPR in the interview set to air Wednesday evening. “That may include us yielding more delegates than perhaps we would have, simply on the basis of the rules."

Obama now appears likely to finish the primary season with a delegate lead, including superdelegates, that would not disappear if both states’ delegations are seated based on the results of January’s contests, in which his name did not appear on the ballot in Michigan. Clinton won both primaries.