Vote for Me Or I Lose My Damage Deposit

We don't usually do this, mainly because it's hard enough for us to concentrate long enough to write a 200 word blog entry, but we'd like to continue on the theme we introduced yesterday, namely Democrats taking back Congress. Today's entry: Joe Liberman.

Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman is fighting for survival against challenger Ned Lamont in a Democratic Senate primary. "OK, we know Lieberman isn't a registered Republican," said Democratic Leadership Council Chairman Governor Tom Vilsack. "But the Republicans keep dropping out, so Lieberman was as close as we could get."

Lieberman, a three-term senator and the Democratic vice presidential nominee just six years ago, scrambled to avoid a stunning defeat at the hands of a political unknown who has characterized the senator as a cheerleader for Bush and the war. "Well, if Lieberman is defeated, I don't know if I'd characterize it as 'stunning,'" said a Lieberman aide. "I mean, have you looked at his record lately?"

Lieberman says he will run as an independent if he loses the primary. "I'm the kind of guy that just can't take no for an answer," he told reporters.

The Connecticut race has attracted national attention for its emphasis on the war and Democratic anger at Bush. "I don't know what that's got to do with me," Lieberman said. When reminded of the infamous "Bush Kiss" he said, "Can I help it if the president's gay?"

Lieberman has fought back, emphasizing his Democratic credentials and calling himself a reliable opponent of Bush's domestic agenda. "I told the president right to his face that people deserve to have food, shelter and reliable medical care," Lieberman told a small crowd waiting for a bus outside a convenience store. "He said he'd look into it, and that's good enough for me."

Lamont has called Lieberman an enabler of Bush and a Bush "lapdog." Lieberman wrote a Wall Street Journal article last year headlined "Our Troops Must Stay" and warned Democrats about criticizing Bush on the war. "Well, you can't hold that against me," he said. "I was drunk when I wrote it."

If he wins the primary, Lieberman promised to take a new attitude back to Washington. "The next time the president wants me to come over and wash and lube his bicycle, I'll say no," he told reporters. "Well, unless he's really in a rush and needs it right away. I mean, the guy is the president and all. Plus he's got those big shoulders, and that cute way of walking with his arms all stiff. And all that bike riding has given him a pretty good set of legs, especially the thighs. Excuse me, I need a drink of water. "