NEW HAMPSHIRE — Senator Joe Lieberman, on a snowy Friday
morning, was about to visit the home of a supporter to have a
roundtable discussion on domestic violence in a small living room.
As the first reporter to show up, I was treated by the man of the
house to a tour. He was quite earnest, beaming with pride that
“Joe” had chosen to grace his home with a visit. He happily showed
me his fish tanks, explained the color schemes of various rooms,
and even his wife’s collection of collectible plates, which
included a first edition M*A*S*H plate, the surgeons of the 4077
staring out at us.
I told him that I really liked the oil paintings of mountains
and lakes that adorned most rooms, and asked if they were all by
the same artist.
“They’re all painted by unknowns,” He explained. “I got them
el cheapo at the starving artist market in
Manchester.”
But his most prized possession was an inherited original
photograph of FDR signing the Social Security Act.
“Just wait until Joe sees this,” he said. “He’ll know what it
is. He’ll definitely be impressed.”
Moments later Lieberman entered, along with his wife, Hadassah,
and a gaggle of reporters, photographers, and TV cameramen, all of
whom quickly outnumbered the group of battered women, women’s
shelter staff members, and Planned Parenthood representatives
gathered for the discussion. Instinctively, the press got in the
way. Reporters lined up in front of the fireplace, eliminating any
chance whatsoever of Joe coming face to face with FDR.
WHILE THE OTHER DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES have brought a new fire to
their campaigns in the opening week of 2004, Joe is still plodding
slowly on, not getting too jazzed up about anything.
Lieberman, the only Democrat to be consistently booed during
televised debates, does not shy away from a controversial position,
however, and this day was no exception. Joe is very much
against domestic violence, and he’s not afraid to say it.
“I’m 100 percent for solving this problem,” he said. Take that
Howard Dean.
After Joe made his position on domestic violence clear, Hadassah
explained how domestic violence ended up on the Lieberman agenda
for America. “I sit here today as the wife of a man who is trying
to be the nominee, and I am proud that he listened to me when I
went home and said, ‘Joey, it [domestic violence] is awful.’”
Lieberman then re-seized the reins, and asked everyone taking part
in the roundtable (actually, the table was a rectangle bordered on
three sides by overstuffed couches and easy chairs) to explain why
they had come. The second woman in line immediately burst into
tears when her turn came.
“Excuse my tears,” she finally sobbed in a heavy Spanish accent.
“But this is the first time I knock on big door about domestic
violence and it has opened. All other times the door stayed closed.
In the '60s when I ask for help, they tell me to cook better,
clean, be patient. And now I knock on your door and you open.”
Hadassah hugged the woman and wiped away her tears, while
Lieberman told her that he remembered her story and tears from a
town hall meeting last month. Apparently this was the second time
the “big door” had opened, and the second time Lieberman had made
this woman cry. I don’t want to sound callous here — and her story
of abuse was indeed harrowing — but did I miss something? Have the
other candidates come out in favor of domestic violence? Is
Lieberman really the only one who has opened this “big door”?
“Strong men don’t beat women,” Lieberman sagely explained.
“Strong men take care of their women.” There was only one rational
solution to the problem. “Look, we’re all flawed,” he said. “The
government needs to come in and take care of this problem.” Put a
bill on President Lieberman’s desk outlawing bad men and he’ll
boldly sign it.
Or perhaps just bad video games. “There’s a video game out right
now where you get points for having sex with a woman in the back of
a car, more points if you beat her, and even more points if you
shoot her,” Lieberman said of his favorite whipping boy, the
entertainment industry. “Now what kind of message is that?”
At the end of the brief meeting, Lieberman asked anyone if they
had anything they wanted to say to him before he left. All was
quiet, but for the hum of reporter’s mini-recorders until Hadassah
raised her hand. “I want to say to Joe, thanks for being a
candidate who listen to the tears of people.” Very touching.
Probably would have been more touching had it come from someone who
hadn’t been married to “Joey” for 20 years. But on the campaign
trail, you take what you can get.
John Edwards on the Move
I caught up with John Edwards last week at his campaign office
in downtown Nashua, where I heard a preview of the “major speech”
he was set make the next day.
“Today under George W. Bush, there are two Americas, not one,”
Edwards said, while I stood dumbfounded wondering how in the world
he could pass this off as something newsworthy when it was
essentially the same stump speech he’s been giving for the past
year. “One America does the work, while another America reaps the
reward.”
I had come to the Edwards office because the senator was
supposedly heading out to canvas door to door. Having done some
campaign work in Nashua myself, I thought watching a sitting
Senator get cussed out by working class locals and chased by dogs
would make pretty good copy. But it was not to be.
“How many houses are you going to hit?” I asked an Edwards
staffer.
“Four,” he said. In the commotion of the packed office, I
thought he said 400. I was impressed. That would be a decent
workday for the average no-pay volunteer. Maybe this guy
was the candidate of the people, despite his multi-million
dollar bank account.
“Wow,” I said. “Four hundred houses!”
“Nope,” the staffer answered. “Four. They’re right around the
corner. Don’t worry, you won’t have to walk far.”
“Four?” I repeated, disappointed. “These four houses wouldn’t be
homes of people who already support your candidate, would
they?”
“Probably,” he said. “We’re not sending him out on cold
calls.”
Fair enough. But I wasn’t going to be the schmuck who followed
Edwards around in the freezing rain to watch him confirm that his
supporters support him. That was even more boring than his new old
speech. Hell, I had been excited enough about the prospect of
seeing a major candidate canvas that I would have maced a couple
charging dogs for him or even broken out some choice cuts from my
collection of obscene phrases to defend him against some, um,
“flinty” New Hampshirites.
It’s a small disappointment in the scheme of things, much like
going to a movie billed as a comedy that turns out to be a drama.
Edwards had the chance to impress, but instead he decided to bore.
Poor choice for someone behind in the polls.
