I watched the Lamont-Lieberman debate on C-Span last night and was quickly taken with the enthusiasm, honesty and directness of Lamont (an amateur debater to be certain) and the rudeness, non-specificity and, dare I say it, Reagan-esque tactics of Lieberman.
Holy Joe interrupted constantly when Lamont was up, demanded twice as many rebuttals (most of which turned over no new ground, but certainly used up time), and made a point of beginning several misdirecting comments with Reagan's "There you go again...".
Joe kept accusing Ned of being a 1 issue guy, but Ned kept bringing up all the current Democratic issues. Joe's main reason for being re-elected was the fact that he had already put in 18 years.
I thought maybe it was just me responding to the debate in this way, but when I looked at the survey page this morning on Hartford's NBC channel (nbc30.com) that hosted the debate, the results were an impressive 81% for Lamont and 19% for Lieberman (7,129 respondents).
I've heard a lot of commentary since the debate ended on how Lieberman was slicker and more polished as a debater... many said he won. Don't believe it. Lamont was the real deal. Lamont was the first to approach his opponent with a handshake after the debate. Lamont did the traditional courtesy of thanking his opponent for debating as well as the organizers for having the debate. Joe thanked the organizers, but ignored Ned. 'Nuff said.
Under The LobsterScope