Stop Me Before I Vote Again

The Gray Lady's coverage of the Lieberman-Lamont mano-a-mano remains oddly, perhaps ominously, delightful (when you find yourself agreeing with the Times, something doesn't add up).

I've always thought the picture choices in the Times say a lot more than the copy ever does, and in this case, we have an oddly-cropped picture of Lieberman and endorser Ken Salazar, in a strange ambiguous pose that suggests they just finished enjoying a spot of frottage. This disquieting image is contrasted with a very engaging picture of Lamont, who has apparently just cracked a straight-faced joke which has given a hearty laugh to two African-Americans. The latter picture is so charming that you really wish you had been there to hear the exchange. Excerpt:

Mr. Lieberman brought in his own Democratic Party stalwarts, including Senator Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii, a decorated war veteran, who tried to defuse the central issue that has left the three-term senator struggling to win his party’s nomination: the war in Iraq.

“I know what war is all about,” said Mr. Inouye, who received the Medal of Honor for his combat service in World War II. “I’ve seen friends shattered, I’ve seen heads being blown off. I am here because I believe Joe Lieberman is a good, good American patriot.

“It pains me to see us become a one-issue party,” he added. “There are many issues, not just the war.”

.... Although he demonstrated for civil rights in the 1960’s, Mr. Lieberman has been criticized as a lukewarm defender of affirmative action in recent years, and his vice-presidential candidacy was questioned by prominent black officials like Representative Maxine Waters of California.

....Senator Ken Salazar, Democrat of Colorado... described Mr. Lieberman senator as “a man who votes with his heart.” Later, Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware and Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut arrived to bolster their longtime colleague; Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey is planning to appear today with Mr. Lieberman....

Lots to love in this. My favorite is the "although he demonstrated for civil rights" trope. Guy shows up at a demonstration or two, forty years ago, and it's news -- according to the Times -- that this doesn't give him a free pass for the rest of his life.

The there's the bit about "voting with his heart." That part, at least, I can believe. If there's anything at all in that leathery, desiccated organ, it's Israeli chauvinism, moralizing sadism, and metastatic self-regard. .

Wonderful, isn't it, how all the Democratic honchos are lining up behind him? I've said it before, but maybe it bears repeating: Never say the Democratic Party isn't about something.

In the very same issue of the Times, a poll is reported:

The latest New York Times/CBS News poll shows what one expert describes as a continuing “chasm” between the way Republicans and Democrats see the war. Three-fourths of the Republicans, for example, said the United States did the right thing in taking military action against Iraq, while just 24 percent of the Democrats did.

So. Three-quarters of the Democratic "base" have left Joe behind; but the people's tribunes like Salazar and Clinton mere et pere and Boxer and on and on and on, are still headed right down the toilet with the stercoraceous little creep. What conclusion do we draw from this picture, kids?