Even though the AP puts it far down the page, the fact that they picked it up at all indicates this story will have legs. It also indicates it will hurt Lamont. AP does their level best to spin it away, but I doubt it is going to work.
Lieberman's ads frequently remind voters of Lamont's wealth, and his supporters have questioned Lamont's membership until recently in a racially exclusive club. Lamont quit the club just before he announced his campaign.
On Wednesday Lieberman lashed out at an altered photo posted on a Web site by a blogger who supports Lamont, which showed Lieberman in blackface alongside former President Bill Clinton. The Lamont campaign said it had nothing to do with the image.
Both candidates have targeted black voters as potential difference-makers in a low-turnout primary campaign, and Lamont has frequently visited black churches and neighborhoods in recent weeks. He appeared at two black churches with Jackson and Sharpton.
The two black leaders dismissed the controversy over the club membership and the Web photo.
"If the implication is that he is a racist, he is far from that," said black state Sen. Ed Gomes of Bridgeport, a Lamont supporter.
"This is not about race," Sharpton told about 200 people at a Baptist church in Bridgeport. Whenever Democrats have tried to accomplish something, he said, "Joe was playing for the other team."
Jackson criticized Lieberman's announced intention to run as an independent if he loses the primary on Tuesday and said it showed disdain for the state's Democrats.
The implication is not that Lamont is a racist, as they very well know. And the story won't make a whit of difference to the faithful. It's the average voters you have to worry about. And this story will hurt with them.
