Hartford Courant -- Lamont Still The Novice

[Larkspur]

Lamont Still The Novice

The voice floated from the semi-darkness of Watertown High School's auditorium, pressing Ned Lamont to explain how he would change the culture of Washington, D.C.

Lamont, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, had talked about shunning special interests, helping folks who need health care and being an agent for change. None of it was enough for one teenage boy.

"You're here. You're talking," the boy said. "I still don't know what you are going to do."

His Aug. 8 primary victory made Lamont a national figure in the anti-war movement, an outsider who beat Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman with a demand that Congress set a deadline for the U.S. to get out of Iraq. But he still is finding his way as a politician.

Lamont, 52, a cable-television entrepreneur, is trying to keep his edge as an outsider, even as he is embraced by the Democratic establishment. He is trying to reach beyond anti-war Democrats, while not compromising his central issue. And he is trying to answer that kid in the dark.

The candidate and his campaign remain works in progress.

A graduate of Harvard and Yale, Lamont is a quick study on the issues, less so on the wiles and ways of politics. He traded in his Lexus for a Ford hybrid, a sound political move he undermines every time he mocks his new wheels as "politically correct."

On Wednesday, he greeted U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy outside a Bridgeport housing complex, where they would campaign with Diane Farrell, the Democrat challenging U.S. Rep. Chris Shays, R-4th District. Kennedy seemed interested in taking the measure of the man, when Farrell arrived and deftly edged Lamont away from Kennedy and a gaggle of photographers.

Lamont, who seemed more bemused than angry at being displaced by Farrell, joked later that Kennedy had to pull him back into view. But his circle of advisers - the group includes former Democratic and Republican state chairmen, labor and community organizers - hardly cringe when Lamont doesn't act like a pol.

"I think with everything happening in Washington, people are looking for leaders with real-life experience and aren't packaged like a fast-food product," said Tom Swan, his campaign manager. "Ned is that."

SNIP

[bullimiami]

1. some kid yells out, the news prints it as a metaphor of his campaign.

who is the kid? what is his motive? did anyone think to ask or look into him.

he could just as easily be a plant as not. where is the curiosity?

[IndianaGreen]

2. Hartford Courant has endorsed Joe Lieberman

so keep that in mind when you read The Courant.