From the New York Times:
Support for War Tests Lieberman's Re-election Prospects
HARTFORD, March 31 — Three times on Thursday night, Senator Joe Lieberman asked the crowd of 1,700 for quiet during his remarks at the state Democrats' annual Jefferson Jackson Bailey fund-raising dinner.
"Shhh," he told the guests. But rather than interrupting him with applause, many were ignoring him, having struck up conversations after finishing their chicken.
The inattentiveness — as well as the scattered boos amid the supportive calls of "Joe" that welcomed Mr. Lieberman to the podium — convinced some that the three-term senator, criticized for months because of his continued support for the war in Iraq, may be vulnerable in the primary challenge he faces.
"What I was struck by was that not many people were paying attention to him," said Leo Canty, chairman of the Democratic town committee in Windsor, which passed a resolution in February opposing Senator Lieberman's support for the war. "It used to be that he would be more of a presence when he came in."
....and I used to like Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, but....A few minutes later, however, the audience was riveted as Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the guest speaker at the $175-a-plate dinner, stood on the podium and began the customary round of recognition of candidates and incumbents in the room. When he got to Mr. Lieberman, who is his mentor in the Senate and who helped recruit him to speak at the event, the applause again was muted.
"I know that some in the party have differences with Joe," Senator Obama said, all but silencing the crowd. "I'm going to go ahead and say it. It's the elephant in the room. And Joe and I don't agree on everything. But what I know is, Joe Lieberman's a man with a good heart, with a keen intellect, who cares about the working families of America."
....and then there's this....If Mr. Lieberman seems concerned, despite his good humor, he has reason. His rival for the primary, Ned Lamont, a Greenwich cable television executive, has described him as "George Bush's favorite Democrat" and "Republican Lite."
And on Thursday night, while Mr. Lieberman said he was pleased with how he was received, Mr. Lamont and his aides said they were pleased, too. Mr. Lamont described people discreetly flashing Lamont buttons from their pockets and whispering to him, "I'm with you quietly."
Although a February poll of 345 registered Democrats done by Quinnipiac University showed him leading Mr. Lamont by 55 percentage points, a lead far beyond the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 5.3 percentage points, Senator Lieberman says he is taking the challenge seriously.
He said on Friday that he had been calling delegates and town committee leaders who he had been told might oppose him at the nominating convention on May 20.
There's more at the link.
No comments:
Post a Comment