CT-Sen: Lieberman: big whiner

Everyone who pays attention to Connecticut politics is marvelling at what a whiny, pompous, sense of entitlement Bush's favorite Democrat has:

It started the first day. The day Ned Lamont announced his run for the Democratic Senate nomination, Sen. Joseph Lieberman's campaign put out a blistering press release.

"Attacking Senator Lieberman's character and integrity was a predictable but dishonorable way to begin this campaign," it started. "Mr. Lamont is clearly going to run a very negative and angry campaign where the truth doesn't get in the way."

Can't you imagine the sparks flying as they typed that bad boy? What could Lamont have done to poor Joe?

He called him "Republican Lite."

He said he was "George Bush's favorite Democrat."

Vicious stuff, huh?

I might have put it down as a little hard-charging, let Lamont know he's in for a fight. But then there was this appeal for money that Lieberman's campaign put out Tuesday:

"This campaign is sure to be a tough one; my opponent has not been shy about misrepresenting my record, and has made it clear that to try and build himself up he has no problem trying to tear me down."

Poor Lieberman - finishes last year with $4 million in campaign funds and now he has to solicit to defend himself against meanie Ned Lamont.

Curious about these misrepresentations, I called Lieberman's campaign manager and asked for specifics.

How much time do you have? Sean Smith asked.

All the time he needed, which turned out not to be much [...]

Smith says Lieberman's campaign has been put in a corner: If they ignore Lamont's digs, Lieberman gets accused of being out of touch. If they engage, Smith said, he's accused of overreacting.

But the Lieberman campaign isn't engaging, it's whining. And there's another way to counter Lamont.

What strikes me about Lieberman's thin skin is how unnecessary it all is. He's a decent guy with a good record in many areas - someone who can hold his own in any debate about Democratic goals and values.

But unless his campaign strategy is to position himself as a coddled incumbent with an overgrown sense of entitlement, he ought to do just that.

Really, there's no reason for a challenger to a long-entrenched incumbent to get this much press. Some of it is our buzz building ability, but most of it is the way Lieberman has reacted to the campaign. The Lamont camp could not have planned things any better.

Of course, given that Lieberman forgot where he came from the last six years, is it any wonder he's forgotten how to communicate to the residents of his own state?

Instead, he's offended he has to give up his comfortable perch at Fox News in order to talk to those frickin' voters.

 

Race tracker wiki: CT-Sen