Lieberman concedes defeat

Local Democrats ponder next moves

BARRY COHEN
Editor

On the evening of Arizona's Democratic presidential primary, Feb. 3, Joseph Lieberman's local Jewish supporters were disappointed by his fifth-place finish, while backers of John Kerry and Wes Clark were looking ahead to the next set of primaries after their candidates' respective first-place and second-place finishes.

Lieberman "took a gamble" by not campaigning in Iowa, said Lieberman supporter Ron Ober. While in Iowa, Richard Gephardt and Howard Dean hurt each other's campaigns, and John Kerry and John Edwards benefited, he explained.

"Call it bad strategy? Who knows? It's bad luck," he added.

What also hurt Lieberman in the early primaries and caucuses was that he was labeled a supporter of the war in Iraq, Ober noted.

"(Lieberman) became in some ways not in sync with the voters in Democratic primaries," he said.

The number one priority for the Democratic Party is to defeat Bush, said Earl Katz, also a Lieberman supporter.

By backing the war in Iraq, Lieberman paid the price by appearing "too closely aligned with Bush," said Katz. This prevented him from appealing to the left-of-center Democrats, Katz added.

Another factor that weakened Lieberman was that he was not critical enough of Bush, said David Shefrin, Lieberman supporter.

"Kerry was scathing about Bush," and addressed people's concerns about jobs and the economy, he noted.

Unclear is who will win the support of those who backed Lieberman.

"I am going to wait (before deciding)," said Katz. "I am still recovering from what I think was a mistake by the Democratic Party and electorate."

Shefrin said he is considering backing Kerry.

"The question is who is electable," he noted.

The issue of electability helped determine why both Kerry and Clark received local Jewish support in the Tuesday primary.

"I believe (Kerry) is able to neutralize Bush where Bush is strong," said Lisa Marmur, wife of Arizona Sen. Ken Clark (D-Phoenix). Kerry also appeals to Middle America and speaks for a broad spectrum of voters, she added.

"I want someone who can challenge Bush on foreign policy, on intelligence, on security - and Kerry can," said Peter Hershfield, a Kerry volunteer.

Kerry is also the best candidate to bridge the gulf between rich and poor and build up the middle class, he added.

For lawyer and political consultant Andy Gordon, "the number one issue is electability," but he chose to support Clark.

"I am concerned whether an incumbent senator can take out an incumbent (president)," he said. To do so, "you have to run against the system," something neither Kerry nor Lieberman could do, he explained.

For this reason, Gordon chose to back Clark.

Clark volunteer Maddy Israel agreed.

"I sincerely believe he's the only one who can beat Bush, because he (Clark) is an outsider," she said.

But she also believes in his policies, particularly concerning health care, the economy and Iraq, she noted.

Bob Rosenberg initially supported Lieberman but changed his mind, based upon his view of the Connecticut senator's electability.

"I think Clark is more electable," he said. "He's very bright, well-educated, knowledgeable on a panoply of issues."

In the wake of his poor showing in five primaries and two caucuses on Feb. 3, Lieberman announced he was ending his bid for the presidency. Just weeks prior, Kerry had shown nearly as poorly in national citizen polls but since then has jumped to front-runner status.

"He stayed in Iowa (campaigning) a long time, and Kerry is unbeatable one-on-one," said Hershfield. "As long as he can get his message out, people can't turn it down."

Marmur added that with the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary, Kerry started to appeal personally with voters.

"I think the American people were hanging in suspended animation waiting for somebody to say the things that clicked in their minds and make them associate with a candidate," she explained, "and Kerry did."

Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.

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