McCain bump from Lieberman might be muted

Republican John McCain made a big deal out of the endorsement earlier this week by Senator Joe Lieberman, the former Democrat turned independent.

McCain hopes that Lieberman helps him reach out to Democrats and independents, especially in New Hampshire, whose undeclared voters helped him win in 2000 and who could hold the key to a strong performance on Jan. 8.

But if you look at the people who fund their campaigns, the Lieberman effect might be rather muted, a campaign finance research group reported today.

In the first nine months of this year, not a single donor to Lieberman also gave to McCain, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. And the two shared only 27 contributors in 2006, when Lieberman successfully ran as an independent for the US Senate in Connecticut, the center said.