JOE LIEBERMAN: Trump’s Israel envoy pick will soften hard line.

David Friedman, a conservative bankruptcy lawyer and Israel hardliner, has drawn howls from Democrats and liberal advocates for challenging the two-state solution with Palestinians and his harsh condemnation of peace-seeking Jewish groups.

But Lieberman, a former Democratic VP candidate and staunch Israel supporter, said Friedman’s most severe statements came “in the heat of the campaign” to elect Trump, predicting the nominee will soften his tone when he seeks Congressional approval.

“I think you’re going to find in the weeks ahead in the confirmation process on David Friedman that it’s going to be very clear that … he and President Trump want to be part of achieving peace between Israelis and Palestinians, and that some of the things he said really don’t reflect what he believes,” Lieberman told CNN on Thursday.

“I think you’ll find along the way that he will express some regrets.”

Diplomats have to be, well, diplomatic. So I suppose the question is whether Friedman will temper his views only when speaking to the US Senate on his own behalf, or if he also does so when speaking to the Israeli government on behalf of the United States.

If it’s the former, the howls of outrage will be even more entertaining than has become usual.