I try to avoid predictions as much as possible, but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that Joe Lieberman’s presidential campaign will be done within a week, if not sooner.
The Chicago Sun-Times’ Michael Sneed reported last week that Lieberman will officially withdraw tomorrow. That seems kind of unlikely, since he’ll at least want to know if he’s won in any of tomorrow’s seven primaries, but he should certainly wake up Wednesday morning and realize he has about as much chance of winning the Dem nomination as I do.
And even in the highly unlikely chance that Lieberman can win in, say, Delaware, Lieberman may simply lack the resources needed to mount a credible presidential campaign for the coming months. The Wall Street Journal reported today that Lieberman’s campaign coffers are just about empty.
“In the direst financial straits is Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, whose staff already is forgoing paychecks to pay for television commercials,” the WSJ noted. “Without a victory in at least one primary or caucus, he will go broke.”
And, at the risk of piling on, I thought I’d add that Lieberman is now trailing badly in the polls in yet another key state — his own.
A University of Connecticut poll shows that Democrats in Connecticut, the state Lieberman has served as senator and state attorney general, much prefer “Comeback Kerry” to “Joementum.” The poll showed 43 percent support for Kerry vs. Lieberman’s 18 percent. Connecticut will host its primary on Super Tuesday, March 2.
Thanks for stopping by the booth, Joe. We have some lovely parting gifts waiting for you backstage…