Sharpton spokeswoman Rachel Noerdlinger said although the preacher had developed a friendship with Lieberman when the two ran for president in 2004, he will endorse Lamont.

"I think he strongly felt he had to make a decision on the policies that would make sure the country is going in the right direction," Noerdlinger said....

Jackson will remain in the state Thursday to campaign for Lamont during a breakfast at Hartford's North End Senior Center, according to his office. Jackson will finish the day with Lamont at a union rally with Pratt & Whitney Aircraft machinists in Middletown.

"I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you," was the breezy response from Lieberman's campaign manager, Sean Smith, when asked about the petition drive last week. "I don't get updates. I am completely uninvolved."

So uninvolved, Smith said, that he has no idea who is running the petition drive. After saying he would find out and call back with the information, Smith failed to return repeated phone calls last week. Messages left for the campaign's spokeswoman, Marion Steinfels, were also unreturned.

But it's impossible to miss the aura of secrecy emanating from the Lieberman campaign these days. Like a dotty Victorian aunt stashed in a back room, the petition organization is kept under wraps lest it attract too much attention and scandalize proper Democrats.

Dan Gerstein has just entered an official position with the Lieberman campaign. In light of this development, Dan and I have mutually agreed that it would be best if he ceased being a contributor on the blog while he is officially connected to the Lieberman campaign...

The simple truth is that I did not know Dan had entered into the official employ of the Lieberman campaign until a couple hours ago, and he hadn't officially joined the Lieberman team until last week.

Joe Lieberman failed to attract even a dozen genuine neighborhood supporters to an anemic reelection campaign rally in his New Haven hometown's Dixwell section Monday.