ESPN's Chris Berman Endorses Joe Lieberman

New Haven Register ^

[governsleastgovernsbest]

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman’s presidential bid has been picked to win by one of the nation’s best-known, if politically unaccredited, prognosticators: ESPN’s Chris Berman.

Berman, a Cheshire resident who has been with the Bristol-based sports network since just after its inception in 1979, delivered his endorsement in character.

"The Swami says Joe Lieberman could … go … all … the … way. Just like the Patriots," Berman said, cozying up to New Hampshire voters who cast ballots in the state’s pivotal primary on Jan. 27.

Berman said he has voted for the Connecticut Democrat in each of his bids for the office of state attorney general and the U.S. Senate, and is proud of supporting Lieberman now.

Recent polls show Lieberman pulling close to U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., for third place among likely New Hampshire primary voters, although retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark is advancing as well, in second place behind the current favorite, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.

A poll conducted Monday and Tuesday by Boston’s WHDH-TV and Suffolk University showed Dean leading in New Hampshire at 32 percent, Clark at 17 percent, and Kerry and Lieberman in a statistical dead heat at 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively.

The poll had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 4.9 percentage points.

Vying with Clark and others to emerge as an alternative to Dean, Lieberman’s campaign has shifted its attacks from Dean and President Bush to Clark.

Lieberman’s campaign has assailed Clark’s record of voting for Republican presidential candidates, and Clark’s purportedly contradictory statements about his position on the war in Iraq.

To illustrate their point, members of Lieberman’s campaign delivered assorted pairs of flip-flops Wednesday to Clark offices in Arizona, New Mexico, and South Carolina.

Bill Buck, a spokesman for Clark’s campaign, was not amused.

"I’m not sure what claim they were trying to make. General Clark has consistently opposed the war in Iraq as a distraction from the war on terror," Buck said. "I think his 34 years in the military give him adequate experience to deal with the war on terror."

Lieberman’s campaign has become the first to hit the airwaves in the Feb. 3 primary state of Delaware.

The campaign is running an ad touting Lieberman’s proposed middle-class tax cuts on two television stations based in Salisbury, Md.

A new radio ad features former governor and U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who has endorsed Lieberman.

Lieberman’s campaign hinges on New Hampshire and Feb. 3 contests in Arizona, Oklahoma and South Carolina, but he made a point of spending time and resources in Delaware, where modest investments have historically paid big dividends on primary day.

Of the nine Democrats running for president, only Lieberman and the Rev. Al Sharpton have campaigned personally in Delaware.

Joseph Straw can be reached at jstraw@nhregister.com, or (202) 737-5654.

©New Haven Register 2004

[governsleastgovernsbest]

In the wake of the flap over Rush's comments about Donovan McNabb, Berman made it known that he was "a New England Democrat," so his endorsement of a New England Democrat is hardly surprising. Then again, I might have thought ESPN would have a policy prohibiting its personalities from getting this directly involved in politics.

[Petronski]

JD?

[zarf]

Can someone come up with a Bermanism for Lieberman?....I'm tapped out.

[Leroy S. Mort]

ESPN's Chris Berman Endorses Joe Lieberman

A stunning blow to the rest of the field, no doubt....

[Mr. Mojo]

Lieberman goes "back back back back back ........and he's gone."

[OldFriend]

Hah, any of those guys want to keep their job they had better be democrats, at least in public.

[nhoward14]

stunning Bermanism

Whoop... Whoop... Whoop... Whoop...

[Leroy S. Mort]

Joe "If my mouth is moving its a" Lie berman

[caisson71]

That's it! The race is over. Chris Berman has spoken. Sometimes it is best to remain silent and be thought a fool than......you know the rest.

[Banjoguy]

He..could..go...all...the...way!

[hattend]

Berman...has...lost...his...mind!

[cynicom]

Is Berman of the old sod also???

[July 4th]

There goes the Democratic field, rumbling, bumbling, stumbling...

[CFC__VRWC]

Then again, I might have thought ESPN would have a policy prohibiting its personalities from getting this directly involved in politics.

That policy would only apply if the personality in question were to endorse George W. Bush.

[ladyinred]

Since when do we get political plugs from sportscasters? They sure didn't like Rush saying anything about anything!!!

[zarf]

Kudos

[American_Centurion]

Who cares what some sports caster thinks about a politician? And what's the deal with a sportscaster anyway? Do they ever tell you something that you really needed to know but couldn't read for yourself on a screen ticker?

IMO the lowest lifeform in TV "news" is a sportscaster, oxygen thieves each and every one.

[WinOne4TheGipper]

Hollywood Leftist Ping!!!

Yeah, I know Lieberman's not a die- hard lefty, but still.

Please FReepmail me if you want on/off this ping list.

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I actually see Berman as something of a harmless blowhard. I'd guess his real knowledge of the issues or politics is very limited, and that his endorsement is based on a general "feeling" that he is a Dem, and perhaps some partially shared Judaism with Lieberman.

Just don't get me started on Stuart Scott, the yuppie, middle-class self-aggrandizing black guy whose shtick at ESPN is a totally phony use of ghetto lingo.