hunterbishop.com

Sen. Dan Akaka wants President Bush to call for an immediate cease-fire in Lebanon, and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich said the U.S. has "no business" in Iraq and should "get out." No surprises here. But it was a rousing little rally for the incumbent senator's re-election campaign Thursday at Keaau Middle School, courtesy of Kucinich. (More pictures here.)

The anti-war Democrat from Cleveland resonates well with voters in Hawaii, especially in the 4th Representative District (Puna Makai or lower Puna) where in 2004 the progressive presidential aspirant picked up more support than anywhere else in Hawaii and finished second in the primary statewide behind John Kerry.

On Thursday, Kucinich whipped up a crowd of nearly 100 supporters and the Senator didn't falter in his 20-minute speech. But Akaka admitted afterward that he's  mystified by his Hawaii colleague Sen. Dan Inouye's public support for Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.

Inouye told the Honolulu Advertiser's Derrick De Pledge about his surprisingly strong support for Lieberman just before leaving this week on a trip to China.

"He didn't even tell his own staff" about his support for Lieberman in the Connecticut general election,  said Akaka Campaign Manager Andy Winer. "Everyone is surprised and puzzled."

Lieberman is bidding to win the general election as an "independent Democrat" after losing the Democratic primary on Tuesday to businessman and political neophyte Ned Lamont, who won largely by tying Lieberman closely to George Bush and opposing the Iraq War.

So not only does Lieberman's political hail mary hurt a party-elected candidate's chances in November, Inouye's support for his pro-war friend in Connecticut counters his support for Akaka against Ed Case, whose moderate credentials resemble Lieberman's on issues like the war.

Most other prominent Democrats who may have been on Lieberman's side in the Connecticut primary are steering clear of him now, including Sens. Obama and Clinton.

Kucinich on Thursday expressed disbelief when told Inouye had embraced Lieberman's turn against the party. "Did he really do that?" he asked.

While Sen. Inouye is supposedly incommunicado during his travels, Winer said he and others on the Akaka and Inouye staffs are anxious to hear what he was thinking when he gets home around Aug. 23. Maybe we'll learn by then that the traveling has refreshed his mind and changed his thinking on Lieberman.