<div><A href="http://nationaljournal.com/todd.htm">http://nationaljournal.com/todd.htm</A> <div> <div>Barring a bad gaffe or an extraordinary turn of events, Sen. <B>Joe Lieberman</B> (I) appears to be much closer to winning re-election than I ever thought possible. This makes little sense, particularly because Iraq has returned to the fore as the nation's No. 1 issue, and Lieberman appears to be on the wrong side of the issue as far as the public is concerned. <div> <div>But something happened in August that turned this race from being Democrat <B>Ned Lamont</B>'s to lose: Lamont didn't go for the kill. <div> <div>In the two weeks immediately following Lamont's primary victory, Lieberman was reeling. He had no party, little support, little staff and not much money. And what did Lamont do during this critical period? <div> <div> He took his foot off of Lieberman's throat. <div> <div>There was a period when Lieberman could have
been branded a sore loser. In fact, it wouldn't have been the first time Lieberman would have felt that sting. (Think back to the national landscape in 2000.) <div><!--(I still have my "Sore-Loserman" and "Bush-Cheated" 2000 paraphenalia in my office, btw, if any consultants need to borrow them.) --> <div>But Lamont (and the media) gave Lieberman enough time and oxygen to become an "independent," and that seemed to marginalize Lamont's victory. Too many Connecticut Democrats view Lieberman positively right now. <div> <div>Lamont could have gone on the air immediately in August -- even guilted his new Democratic friends to cut TV ads for him -- and created an atmosphere that might have made Lieberman think twice about continuing his bid. <div> <div>But that didn't happen. Lamont could still win, but Lieberman seems to be framing the debate and appears to have the momentum. If he wins re-election, Lamont and his supporters will look at August as their
"woulda, coulda, shoulda" moment. </div><p> 
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