Even His Mom Wonders Why Lieberman 'Didn't Catch On'
NASHUA, N.H. — Resting in a wheelchair as her son finished a speech at City Hall here Saturday night, 89-year-old Marcia Lieberman shook her head and gave that worried look that only a mother can give.
The U.S. senator from Connecticut vying for the Democratic presidential nomination was the kind of boy who brought struggling students home from school for tutoring. At 61, he still calls his mother every night from the campaign trail, no matter where it takes him.
So why, she wonders, isn't her Joseph faring any better in his presidential quest?
"He's such a good man," she said softly. "I don't know why he didn't catch on."
The question lingers for many as New Hampshire prepares for Tuesday's primary.
While Lieberman hopes for a third-place finish, some polls indicate he could place as low as fifth, a disappointing result that could jeopardize his pledge to continue his candidacy into the round of Feb. 3 primaries.
For some here, Lieberman's effort in New Hampshire had seemed a marriage made in voter-candidate heaven: a no-frills, plain-spoken, tell-it-like-it-is political veteran campaigning throughout a state that prides itself on its low-key demeanor and rock-solid New England values.
He skipped the Iowa caucuses to concentrate on New Hampshire and even rented an apartment in Manchester with his wife and constant companion, Hadassah.
Lieberman warns the pundits not to count him out, referring to John F. Kerry, the senator from Massachusetts who he said proved in Iowa that late rallies by written-off candidates can bring surprising results.
But for Lieberman, there is little sign of that type of momentum. While the unflappable senator traveled the state Sunday touting one new poll that placed him in a statistical tie for third place with Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina and retired Gen. Wesley K. Clark, he remains on the low-intensity fringes of the Democratic race.
Like the frigid temperatures here, his popularity with voters has barely reached double digits in most surveys. He may end up learning the same cruel lesson about New Hampshire politics as one-time Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole, who said, "Now I know why they call this the Granite State, because it's so hard to crack."
