Operation Liebermania Part II: A Joe-Vember to Remember

[DoveTurnedHawk]

Although I was never any big fan of his, I have to confess, I was a little surprised to see Lieberman flame out so quickly during this campaign season. Obviously, his moderate positions were not popular with the party's base, but I still thought that between his name recognition, his reasonably liberal voting record (which has been less apparent recently), and his supposed ability to be perceived as strong on character, morals and integrity, he would have a decent shot at the nomination.

As it turns out, his moderate positions began to turn almost conservative, his voting record became an ignored thing of the past, and his morals became moralizing even while his character and integrity suffered as he launched attack after attack.

I think there are other factors too, however. He has to be one of the LEAST media-savvy and telegenic candidates we have, and wince-worthy taglines like, "Operation Liebermania Part II: A Joe-Vember to Remember" are part of the reason why. Between that and his uncanny ability to come across like that annoying, holier-than-thou uncle you just couldn't stand, I guess I shouldn't be all that surprised by his failure to catch fire.

I suspect he will stay in until the day of the South Carolina/Oklahoma/etc. primaries, and drop out quickly thereafter. I actually think Gephardt and Kerry might drop out before Lieberman, if they lose in IA and NH, respectively.

Operation Liebermania Part II: A Joe-Vember to Remember. UGH.

DTH

[Capn Sunshine]

1. I think Gephardt is a wild card

nd while I don't expect him to win, I think that all of these inside the beltway boys are getting advice that the convention will open with no clear winner. They are not dropping out; they expect to remain in as a compromise brokering force.

That being said, it's Deans to lose at this point.

Joe-vember ! lol!

[IrateCitizen]

2. Lieberman's campaign is based entirely on big contributors

Want to know why his campaign has flamed out so quickly? That's why. He has invested his entire campaign effort in gleaning big bucks from wealthy contributors, and has (predictably) avoided anything approaching speaking directly to the base -- most likely a result of his disdain for anything remotely approaching populism.

It seems that Joe forgot that primaries aren't won by the person with the biggest pockets -- they're won by the person who most appeals to those who will be voting in the primaries (the party's base). In pursuing such an ill-advised strategy, he has failed spectacularly, and deservedly so IMHO.

[sangh0]

3. I just love this thread's title

"A Joe-Vember to Remember"

And I don't think losing NH is enough to get Kerry out of the race. Losing IA will knock Gephardt out, IMO.

[DoveTurnedHawk]

4. That's Joe's Real Tagline

I couldn't believe it. ;-)

DTH

[sangh0]

6. OMFG!!

What a loser he is! I'm not one of the Lieberman haters, but what a schmuck. He really has no ear for someone with such a good sense of humor

[robsul82]

5. Liebermania!

"LIEBERMANIA IS RUNNING WILD ALL OVER THIS DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION! WHATCHA GONNA DO, BROTHER, WHEN THE LIEBERMANIACS RUN WILD ALL OVER YOU?!?"

Later.

RJS

[Mr. Brown of MD]

15. LOL!

Good thing I wasn't drinking anything when I read that, it would have been all over my monitor.

Then again, maybe this is Lieberman's backwards way of trying to court the wrestling fan vote?

-CollegeDude
Doubts it is a constituency for the Democratic primary

[HFishbine]

7. I don't think it was his moderate positions

that were unpopular with the base. It was his conservative position and accomodation of the Bush cabal that where just a tad annoying.

[LittleDannySlowhorse]

8. Just speaking for myself, a lot of it is personality

I'm sorry --- I know we're supposed to base our assessments of the candidates on their positions, record, policies, etc., but I can't stand the fucking guy. 95% of it is his sanctimonious moralizing, which rubs me completely the wrong way.

I know that Lieberman actually has a much more liberal record overall than his conservative demeanor (and Senate votes) would indicate, and that's why I would certainly vote for him over Bush if it came down to it (though it won't thank god). But Jesus he needs to learn when to shut the fuck up sometimes.

The fact that I am a Dean supporter, and I think Lieberman needs to "learn when to shut the fuck up sometimes" should speak volumes.

[MrBadExample]

10. Confession time.

I don't like Lieberman for the major reasons people are citing--acting like a conservative, moralizing, etc.--but I have a much more petty reason in addition to those:

You can't see his upper teeth when he talks. It's creepy. I keep wanting to pry open his mouth to make sure he didn't forget to put in his upper plate or something.

I'm not proud of it, but there it is.

[Arugula Latte]

9. Who was it that said Joe is like the Dad on "Alf"

'nuff said. Bye, Joe. We hardly knew ye, and we like it that way.

[oinkment]

12. "A new kind of Democrat. The Republican kind."

I was almost fooled by this Lieberman2004 parody site:

http://www.joseph2004.org/

It's pure genius.

[newyawker99]

14. Hi oinkment!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Cocoa]

11. he strikes me as more and more jive by the day

I never have disliked him, but I saw him singing "Oklahoma" and he just seemed more out of touch than ever.

Maybe it's the contrast with the other candidates, who are getting sharper.

edit: Joe-vember to Remember is very funny to me, however. One thing I like about him is that he's still funny even when his campaign is doomed.

[eileen_d]

13. "Joe-vember" is a blatant cry for help.

Please... won't you donate and save this one candidate. For the price of a cup of coffee a day, you can help Joe get a new slogan.

[dreissig]

16. A Cold Day in Hell

It will be a cold day in Hell when Lieberman gets the Democratic presidential nomination. He's just not an attractive candidate!