A Lot of Admirers but Too Few Voters

A pair of Joe Lieberman’s aides pounced on the two people having breakfast Monday at a coffee shop here: The candidate was coming in just a few moments, they said, breathless. Would they like to meet him?

“Sure,” the two friends said. “We work for another candidate. But what the heck? We’d like to meet Joe.”

Moments later, the two slipped out the door before Lieberman arrived. Such is how the New Hampshire campaign has gone for the Connecticut senator who would be president.

Judged by pundits as a likely also-ran in today’s primary -- and the overall race for the Democratic presidential nomination -- he spent part of Monday talking about polls. He dismissed the unflattering ones, and highlighted those that suggested he could remain a contender by finishing third here in the seven-candidate field.

During a daylong bus trip across southern New Hampshire, Lieberman mocked the concept of prognosticators trying to gauge the primary’s outcome. “People in New Hampshire don’t give a damn about polls,” he said, speaking to about 200 supporters outside a state office building in Concord.

But he added: “I want to mention parenthetically that we are going up in the polls in New Hampshire.”

This was the campaign that gave voters slogans such as a “Joe-vember to remember” last fall. The one that suggested a new surge of “Joe-mentum” in recent days. And the one that started Monday at a Manchester coffee house offering a “cup of Joe” promotion to meet him.

As with many Lieberman appearances, however, there were more reporters than diners when the 61-year-old candidate showed up at Cafe Vichon about 7:45 a.m.

A regular walked in shortly after Lieberman. He obviously was less than thrilled by what he encountered. Glaring at reporters, he announced: “This is not good for business,” and left.

Lieberman moved from table to table, telling locals he was the best-qualified candidate to oppose President Bush because -- unlike some of his Democratic rivals -- he has stuck to his guns in supporting the war in Iraq and additional funding for U.S. reconstruction efforts there.

As he walked and talked, the TV crews moved backward, filming the action. One cameraman hit a man in the head with his equipment; another knocked over a cup of coffee.

Throughout the bone-chilling day, Lieberman’s campaign bus, Integrity One, lumbered from one small New Hampshire city to the next, past high-tech office parks and roads named for the state’s blue-collar roots, such as Factory and Mechanic streets.

Lieberman walked down Main Street in Nashua, shaking hands with passersby. Many talked of their respect for him. But apart from a few banner-wavers, most stopped short of pledging to vote for him today.

Watching Lieberman pose before a bust of John F. Kennedy outside Nashua City Hall, hearing him speak about the Kennedy commitment to civil rights that got him interested in politics, Bob Sloan was asked if he could see Lieberman as the 44th president of the United States.

“Probably not, and that’s just too bad,” he said, handling a small camera with which he planned to snap a memento. “Joe’s got integrity. And most of the last few people who got into the White House didn’t have it. In a way, Joe’s just too good for the job.”