"Desperate Measures"

John Nichols:

Joe Lieberman, down in the polls and desperate as Tuesday's Connecticut Senate primary approaches, tried on Sunday to remake himself as something he has not been for a very long time: A true-blue Democrat who respects dissent in his own party and the country as a whole.

Accusing his anti-war primary challenger, Ned Lamont, of waging "a distortion campaign against me," the Bush administration's favorite Democratic senator grumbled, "Now I understand that many Democrats in Connecticut disagree with me and are very angry about the war. I don't think there is anything I can say to change your mind about whether we should have gone to war or when we should bring the troops home, and at this point I'm not going to insult you by trying. What I will say is this: I not only respect your right to disagree or question the President, I value it. I was part of the anti-war movement in the late 1960s, so I don't need to be lectured by Ned Lamont about the place of dissent in our democracy."

With the primary just two days away, the senator professed to be shocked, shocked by suggestions that he might be something less than a diehard Democrat.

"The more I have talked to voters in these closing days, the more I am concerned they have been shortchanged in this campaign," said Lieberman. "Instead of hearing an honest debate about the issues that really matter to people, they have been overwhelmed with bogus charges about my Democratic credentials. Instead of having an honest discussion about your future, we're getting negative politics at its worst."

The new Democratic Joe Lieberman is a far cry from the Joe Lieberman who has spent the past four years as the pet Democrat of the conservative Fox News combine -- grinning, nodding and chirping his approval as conservative commentator Sean Hannity has trashed war critics and accused Democrats who challenge the Bush White House of something akin to treason.

Booman runs down the pundits' last minute predictions.

From the Huff Post today:
Arianna: "Joe Lieberman's Pathetic Hail Mary Pass on Iraq."
Chris Durang: "Lieberman's Mistaken Idea of Who's Polarizing."
James Boyce: "Lamont's Campaign: How DC And The MSM Will FUBAR The Lessons."
RJ Eskow: "I Will Now Use A Brechtian Technique to Rally Our Cadres In Connecticut For Lamont."
"Joe & Dub's Fabulous Wedding" ---(An Original Song & Flash Video by Gary Lee Stewart).
Rick Jacobs: "Ned Lamont has already won in Connecticut. Here's Why."
Taylor Marsh: "Connecticut is America this Week."
The last word goes to David Sirota, from: "The Four Post-Lieberman/Lamont Scripts":

Remember - movements take time. If Ned loses, the media and Democratic "strategists" will put out all sorts of stories patting themselves on the back and pretending that nothing serious really happened. The louder their claims like that, the more we should all know that we've already won a big battle - no matter what the outcome tomorrow. Again, it is crucially, crucially important for everyone to do whatever they can tomorrow to get as many votes out for Lamont - but don't forget what we've already accomplished: it's no small feat.