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Sen. Richard Lugar is fighting for his political life in Indiana, where frustrated conservative voters want to send him packing. But in Washington, colleagues in both parties who have worked with the upper chamber's third most senior member generally have nice things to say about Lugar. In fact, many would be sad to see him lose on Tuesday.

That said, laudatory remarks are not always helpful to Lugar. When coming from Democrats, they can have the opposite effect in a GOP primary.

"I'm concerned, Andrea, that any praise from a Democrat could hurt his campaign," former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, a Democrat, said on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports on Tuesday. "But, I will say that he is an extraordinary leader and respected Senator on both sides of the aisle. His contributions over the last couple of decades is -- are as great as any that are serving today. I have great admiration for him. And he has done Indiana extremely proud. I hope that the voters will recognize his leadership as they make their decision next week."

The campaign of Treasurer Richard Mourdock eagerly blasted around Daschle's comments to reporters this afternoon.

Daschle's nice words weren't the first dose of bipartisan praise Lugar would rather not take. In March, Republican-turned-Democrat Arlen Specter urged on C-SPAN, "Vote for Dick Lugar!"

It's a reminder that in politics, public praise isn't always a blessing.