Connecticut State Senate

Joe Lieberman's decision to run as an Independent in the Connecticut Senate race has forced Democrats across the country to decide whether to endorse the Democratic nominee or Democratic incumbent.

But Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey found a simpler solution last night, according to this fun story in the Times. Endorse both of them.

"In a written question from an audience member, Mr. Menendez was asked why he supported Mr. Lamont. Mr. Menendez said that his support of Mr. Lamont was a "mischaracterization," adding that he supported Mr. Lieberman's run as an independent candidate. "I wish him well and hope he returns," he said.

The Senator's comments, published on the Empire Zone, were then posted on Joe Lieberman's blog . Menendez' press secretary then called the Times reporter, John Holl, and asked that the senator's comments to be changed, according to the article.

So all this begs the question, what happened between Menendez' comments and Miller's call? One immediately imagines Chuck Schumer getting on the horn and chewing Menendez out. The DSCC isn't helping Menendez out in New Jersey just so he can help the competition in Connecticut, after all. The DSCC had no comment. (Lieberman and Lamont blogs have been bickering about the ephemeral endorsement all day.)

Miller said the whole thing was just a big misunderstanding and that really, it was all Kean's fault.

"He kind of comes up with this silly stunt, but it's more a sign of a sinking campaign than anything else," Miller told me earlier.

Whatever happened, Kean is happy. His campaign just sent out the Times article, in full, as a press release.

--Jason Horowitz

Jason Horowitz did what I asked someone to do, stuck Israel right into the Connecticut Senate race:

Asked specifically if he felt that the wave of opposition to his candidacy had anything to do with his religion or his support for Israel, Mr. Lieberman paused, stepped toward the blue sedan that would speed him to a meeting outside of Hartford and said, "That's too big a question to answer on one foot. We should come back to answer that one."

As I reported for the Nation, Bernard Steinberg, director of Harvard's Hillel center, brought this issue up unprompted to me: "I talked to someone in Harvard development and asked what the fallout had been, and he said, 'It's been seismic.'"

Martin Peretz in The New Republic, "anti-Israel and even anti-Jewish animus"), desires to punish the university for Summers's departure and so plays the money card. "...[M]y own impression of wealthy alumni who were once my students is that Summers made them more generous... I know of at least three gifts in the $100 million range that were very likely to materialize and now are dicey."

"I got kicked out of Aspen.... In early 2002 they held a conference on relations with the Muslim world. For two days nobody mentioned Israel. Finally, I said, 'Look, this is a Soviet-style debate. Whatever you think about this issue, the entire Muslim world is shouting about it.' I have never been asked back." In 2004 Lieven published a book, America Right or Wrong, in which he argued that the United States had subordinated its interests to a tiny militarized state, Israel.

The Times reports on Hillary Clinton's political calculation in the Connecticut Senate race.

Republicans on Staten Island battle out two primaries, Republican and Independence, before they compete with the Democratic candidate.

Mike Bloomberg endorsed Joe Lieberman without prompting yesterday, the Post reports.

The Sun reports Mr. Bloomberg testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting on immigration, saying: "It's as if we expect border control agents to do what a century of communism could not: defeat the natural forces of supply and demand and defeat the natural desire for freedom and opportunity."

—Nicole Brydson