Is Joe Lieberman Down For The Count?

Wih the Connecticut primaries coming up on Tuesday, the question of the day no longer seems to be will Sen. Joe Lieberman lose to Ned Lamont, but by how much will he lose.

At least that seems to be the message coming from two journalists keeping a close eye on the race.

Columnist Kevin Rennie of the Hartford Courant and Stuart Rothenberg of the Rothenberg Political Report were guest bloggers yesterday on Taegan Goddard's PoliticalWire.

Both took a dim view of Lieberman's chances on Tuesday.

Rennie had two posts. In one he described the Lieberman campaign as being in full retreat.

The Lieberman campaign in the towns, where the race is fought at the end is in a full-scale retreat that rivals the French west of the Ardennes. The Washington generals who came in to inspect, organize and deploy the troops with nods and waves have sent word back to Washington that all is lost.

In the other, Rennie says Lieberman can't even BUY foot soldiers for Tuesday.

The invoice for neglecting Connecticut Democrats for the past six years is now due. It's a ruinous sum for George Bush's favorite Senate Democrat.

Meanwhile, Rothenberg merely asks what happens after Lieberman loses.

The primary result would create an entirely new dynamic in the race, undercutting Lieberman's support for an Independent bid and putting pressure on him to exit the race gracefully. That doesn't mean that the Senator couldn't win a three-way race, only that early polls showing him with a commanding advantage in a three-way contest are meaningless.Lamont's general election numbers would immediately spike and Lieberman's would drop, and the Senator's prospects for victory in November would be uncertain.

PoliticalWire has no leanings, either left or right, and does have a good handle on the national political scene.