WASHINGTON – In a seating arrangement reminiscent of boy-girl, boy-girl, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, the Democratic-turned-independent senator from Connecticut, has mixed things up on the committee dais.

The new seating chart, introduced at a “Threat of Islamic Radicalization to the Homeland” hearing on March 14, alternates Democrats and Republicans on the dais at the head of the room, instead of placing members of the two parties at opposite ends of the horseshoe, as is customary.

A statement from the committee on the “novel dais seating” credits newbie Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., with suggesting the change.

“In the last election, the voters said they were sick of the partisanship that produces gridlock,” Lieberman and Sen. Susan Collins, Maine, the panel’s ranking Republican, said in their statement. “So, as a start, instead of sitting on opposite sides of the room like a house divided, we want the American people to see us sitting side by side as our committee members work together to make our nation more secure and our government more efficient.”

One Hill staffer has a different explanation: “It’s because Lieberman can’t decide what side he’s on anymore.”

In fact, the new arrangement may leave some lawmakers a trifle uncomfortable at the prospect of sitting next to someone with a different viewpoint. Washington etiquette consultants advise conversing with those on one’s right and left, so that no one feels excluded; and they suggest making it a point to include someone shy or reserved. Choose pleasant, general-interest subjects, and avoid talking about religion or politics, they say.

No word yet on whether members of the committee will begin switching seats between witnesses, so that all may have an opportunity to know one another better.