Lamont Leads by 13%; Lieberman Throws Hail Mary Pass

"In American football, a Hail Mary pass or Hail Mary play is a forward pass made in desperation, with only a very small chance of success. The typical Hail Mary is a very long forward pass thrown at or near the end of a half where there is no realistic possibility for any other play to work, though the most famous were thrown at the end of a game. The phrase derives from the name of a prominent Roman Catholic prayer to the Virgin Mary. The point is that the success of such a pass is so unlikely that it would need divine intervention to work."

Taking a page from the playbook used by those who are losing, this is Joe Lieberman's new campaign plan:

Embattled Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman - facing a possible primary defeat Tuesday because of his strong backing for the Iraq war - yesterday launched a Hail Mary attack on the Bush administration's handling of the war.

Of course, Lieberman has zero credibility on this issue. But it is clear to see why he is doing this when one looks at the latest Quinnipiac Poll:

Momentum for Ned Lamont, the anti-war Connecticut U.S. Senate candidate, increases as he rolls to a 54 - 41 percent lead over incumbent Sen. Joseph Lieberman among likely Democratic primary voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to a 51 - 47 percent Lamont lead among likely Democratic primary voters in a July 20 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University.

The trend is more startling when you look at where Lieberman stood less than six months ago:

In a possible Democratic primary, the incumbent beats businessman Ned Lamont 68 - 13 percent.

That is right, in half a year Lieberman's poll numbers have fall by 27 pts while Lamont has gone up 41 pts. In net comparison, Lieberman has gone from +55 to minus -13 in what may be one of the biggest shifts ever for an incumbent senator who has not suffered a major scandal.

In the final days, expect the desperate Lieberman campaign to run even nastier.