nesidential

I'm sitting here in the press-room backstage at Quinnipiac University.  Holy Joe cancelled his appearance at tonight's debate, so it's Ned and Alan Schlessinger.  Maybe because Joe has finally realized that he's completely outclassed.  Maybe just because he's a big chicken like Alan McKeon. 

Today has been the first day of the Big Bad Bus Tour 2006, and I've gotten to meet a bunch of Connecticut citizens.  I've learned a lot about this state and the issues facing its citizenry.  I've learned a lot about Ned's platform on issues besides the war.  But something else I've learned today?  Joe Lieberman isn't just incompetent, a suck-up, and a political opportunist, he's also a hateful little bitch.  The people I met today know and understand that.  They know that Joe's not in this business for the people of Connecticut.  He's not even in this for the businesses and corporations of Connecticut.  He's in this race for himself.  He likes being in the Peerage, having a title, and never having to open a door for himself.  

I know this may be old news to a lot of you, but just talking to people from all over CT from all walks of life, it has really been made clear to me that the only time Rape Gurney Joe ever even tries to act like he likes his constituency is when his entitlement is at risk.  It explains a lot that I couldn't figure out about him like why he found it so appalling that he had to participate in the Primary (and why it was no matter at all for him to bail on his party and run anyway), why he has staffed his campaign with thugs and compulsive liars, and why his behavior over the course of the race has been so vicious and despicable.  If you asked Joe, he'd tell you that he IS Connecticut.  Hell, in his head, he is The Cosmos.  

Today, I got to see Ned Lamont in action, talking to students first at UConn, and then at a jam-packed town-hall meeting at Manchester Community College, as well as at tonight's debate.  He remains the steadfast, soft-spoken, matter-of-fact candidate that I remember from the primary, but something else I noticed as I watched him shake hands and lean in to listen to what people were saying to him was that he is, above all, a gentleman.  He was unfailingly gracious and polite, even as the LieberYouth who showed up in their College Republicans t-shirts and "Vote Joe" signs stood and booed loudly during his speech at UConn.

Maybe these aren't the ideal qualities for a campaigner.  As we've seen this year, political contests can be brutal, ugly things (ask Mike Stark!), but in spite of Lieberman's mouthpieces' insistence that Lamont and his supporters are a bunch of lying, bomb-throwing, lefty lunatics, the overall vibe of this campaign is that while winning is crucially important, everything must be done in a way that's fair and above the board.  

Holy Joe may send out his surrogates to lie and spin, to cast aspersions and distort the facts, but the Lamont campaign knows that the facts are on their side.  The Bush Administration and its vanity war are crashing, dismal failures that have placed not just the fate of the US, but the entire planet at risk.  Personally, I can't understand why anybody would vote for Joe at all, given that he votes like a Kennedy but lies like a Hannity.  He's a disgrace.  And a nasty, petty, vengeful man who thinks that vote-buying and personal smears are the way to carry the day.  If there's any justice at all in the world, election day will bring some nasty realities home to Lieberman and Co.  Karma's a bitch, Joe, and she knows where you live.

One of highlights of the day for me included the group of 18-20 year olds I sat with at Manchester College.  They were so achingly fresh-faced and optimistic, so in tune with the truth of America's situation, both at home and overseas.  They were deeply committed to peace, education, and health care, and excited about the possibilities that a Democratic Congress could bring.  They reminded me of what was great about being that age, that sense that the world is full of opportunity and promise.

Something else that tickled me was that they listen to all the same music that I did at that age, R.E.M., U2, Radiohead.  Has the world of rock and roll produced that little decent music in the last decade or so?

The debate just ended and it went really well.  Funny, I didn't ever hear that annoying little squeaking sound that I remember from the other debates.

Must be the carpet in the auditorium.

 husky

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