The voters are hungry for honest talk and real issues. Whether this hunger leads to a wave that washes away incumbents and elects truly fresh and, yes, inexperienced people like Lamont depends on whether the candidates make the case. (Remember that Lincoln and Jefferson were inexperienced. Cheney and Rumsfeld were "experienced.")...

The war goes to the heart of all other issues. It goes to the heart of the current malfeasance and arrogance in Washington. It is the reason we are not dealing with terrorism or Islamic fundamentalism. It is the reason for the continuing disarray in homeland security and intelligence. It is the reason Afghanistan is falling apart today. It is the reason the nation is broke and cannot afford to create a universal health insurance system, which Harry Truman advocated in 1948 and Robert Taft advocated in 1952....

Lamont was anti-war before there was a prevailing anti-war sentiment. He had the guts to stand up. And mounting public concern about the war translated into votes for Lamont. There is no way Lamont could have beaten Lieberman in the primary, even with his millions, without the war issue....

It is Lieberman's war just as it is Bush's war. After 18 years, it is Lieberman's Congress just as it is Dennis Hastert's.

But the war is what made Lamont's candidacy in the first place and that's what he has to use as the foundation of his platform in the remaining weeks. His core message must be: You want more of this war and all that goes with it, from fiscal suicide to diminishment of the Constitution? Vote for Lieberman. You want to vote against Bush's war? Vote for Lamont.

Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman on Monday endorsed controversial Bush appointee John Bolton for a permanent slot at the United Nations - putting him at odds once again with Democrats and his Senate colleague, Chris Dodd.

Dodd, D-Conn., is the leading critic of Bolton, the controversial envoy Bush sent to the U.N. on a temporary ambassadorship after Democrats and some key Republicans balked at nominating him.

"I see no reason not to be for Bolton," Lieberman told a meeting of the New York Daily News editorial board.

"Based on his capabilities - and now based on his performance - I believe Bolton is well-qualified," he said.

"I think he's been a good negotiator and a good spokesman. He deserves to have a vote. I think he deserves to be confirmed."

A more realistic assessment is that Schlesinger, long neglected by GOP donors and unable to escape single digits in the polls, might become a player in a race dominated by Lamont and Lieberman. Lieberman leads Lamont, 48 percent to 40 percent in the most recent poll, with Schlesinger at 4 percent.

With Lieberman relying heavily on Republican and unaffiliated voters in the general election, any gain Schlesinger makes in winning back a portion of the GOP base is likely to come at Lieberman's expense....

Lamont was upbeat after the debate, saying he was happy to stand as the only business owner on a stage with two politicians.

"We're the agent of change in this race," Lamont said. "I come from a very different background than these other two guys that are running. I'm going to come down there and try to shake things up."

At the first fall debate between Ned Lamont, Joe Lieberman and Alan Schlesinger in Stamford on Monday afternoon, it seemed like we were in for another dry lesson from the indignant incumbent about the naughty people's millionaire from Greenwich.

"Expect a lot of attacks today by Ned Lamont," Lieberman warned the crowd before the debate was minutes old, telling all that Lamont was probably going to buy the beer afterward to celebrate all the cheap shots.

"I'm counting like four or five attacks on me so far," Eddie Haskell, I mean Lieberman, added a couple of minutes later. "I hope you all will stop it so we get on to the things that really matter....

Lieberman, still a registered Democrat, won't tell us who he wants for governor or whether he wants a Democratic majority in Congress, but Schlesinger might yet force him out of his ill-fitting Republican Halloween costume."...

Congress is partisan. The Iraq war is partisan. People truly disagree.

Thank you, Alan Schlesinger, for reminding us of this.

Lieberman, D-I, Lamont, D, and Alan Schlesinger, R, went back and forth on the issues, playing the debate mostly on the offensive approach. And at the end of the game, Schlesinger may have scored the winning touchdown.

Before the debate at the Stamford Marriott, Lieberman made small talk with Schlesinger. He spoke close to his side of the audience, leaving Lamont over on his own and visually setting the two against Lamont.

As the hour went on, however, it appeared that two were instead against Lieberman....

And when Lieberman's allotted 17 response minutes finished, Schlesinger said, "No pun intended, but your time is up, Joe."...

Staying local, Lamont went to Fiddlers Green at 280 Shippan Ave., in Stamford. As he arrived, the crowd of around 40 to 50 people cheered while passersby honked their horns. ...

Supporters in the crowd interjected that Lamont did well to make mention of health care and that he came across as being very sincere.

Asked about North Korea and its nuclear ambitions, Lieberman said too many fingers are pointed at President Bush and the Clinton administration. "Both parties have failed to stop that from happening. We should work through our allies, specifically China. And I don't agree that we should not be able to talk to the North Koreans," Lieberman said, referring to Bush's insistence there be no direct dialogue with the rogue country.

Lamont said North Korea's nuclear program is a consequence of Bush's contention that Iran, Iraq and North Korea constitute an "axis of evil." He contrasted that with his opposition to the Iraq war and Lieberman's support.

"We invaded a country with no weapons of mass destruction. Over the last three years the world has become a much more dangerous place. We need diplomacy and the Bush administration has been so derelict in this," Lamont said.

U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman went into yesterday's first debate anticipating attacks from his primary opponent, Democrat Ned Lamont.

He was stunned, however, when some of the harshest criticism came from Alan Schlesinger -- the Republican candidate who has been overshadowed in the race and trailing far behind in polls.

"I thought the attacks were only going to come from this side," Lieberman said at one point, referring to Lamont....

Lieberman, continuing his battle for a fourth term as a petition candidate, railed against Washington's "partisanship and bitterness." He said Lamont would make it worse and urged audience members to grab pencils and keep score of how often the Democrat "attacks" him in the debate.

But the tactic, which drew some laughs, had limited traction. At one point when Lieberman said, "I'm counting four or five attacks on me," he got some groans and one "poor baby" from the crowd.

"You have an 18-year-old record," Lamont said. "That's what we talk about in a race like this."