Lieberman campaign manager Sean Smith said this past week when asked about supporting the winner of the August primary, “This is a campaign, man, we are in this to win. We’re not thinking about those contingencies.” Note to Sen. Lieberman: You may want to have someone who doesn’t speak like a Valley Boy issuing your statements. This is 21st-century Connecticut, dude.
Lamont takes a sunnier view of the post-primary climate. His campaign manager, Tom Swan, says, “Ned Lamont will support the Democratic nominee.” A switch in roles is taking place in the Senate race. Lamont sounds like the confident front-runner, Lieberman like the nervous and petulant challenger.
It isn’t the first role reversal of late. Much has been made of Lieberman’s disputatious appearance on WTIC radio’s “Bruce and Colin” program. The 18-year Senate veteran sounded peeved with a column by co-host and Courant columnist Colin McEnroe. His anxieties over the race with Lamont started to show.
Not as widely noted was Lamont’s appearance on the program not long after. He’s become a polished ad-libber in the two months since I interviewed him at his Greenwich office. His set piece announcement speech was a typical mix of slogans, jargon and rah-rah rhetoric cooked up for the newly converted. On his own in a radio studio fielding calls, a common battlefield in campaigns, Lamont is a pro.
If you're in or near Connecticut here are some events you can attend.