His conclusion is that Joe is getting it together at last, apparently after some tough talk by Connecticut's senior Senator, Chris Dodd. Here is how some of Joe's friends describe what has happened to him:
"It's how Lieberman talks about the war that people can't stand. He comes across as not necessarily being pro-war but being pro-Bush."Zengerle doesn't think that Lamont has been especially effective or that the anti-war Democrats and the bloggers are the reason why Joe is currently performing so poorly. The problem seems to be the very poor campaign Lieberman has run. But Zengerle seems to think that the problems have been identified and are now being addressed.
"It's not only an ideological thing. It's a temperament thing," says another former adviser, explaining Lieberman's approach to politics in general. "He really does believe that there's a bipartisan sort of consensus. That attitude worked for him politically in Connecticut for the last 30 years, and it worked for him nationally in the 1990s. But now the earth has shifted. One, I don't think the Bush Republicans play that way. And, two, most people in the Democratic Party don't want anything to do with that attitude." "
It is a good, clear and well-written article, and if Zengerle is correct, the primary and November election are a lot more unpredictable than my previous post may have sounded.
That's part of what is so fun about politics. Even at the last minute you can get surprised, and the results may not match even that last minute surprise. This race looks like one of those.
[Thanks to TPM]
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