Stamford Advocate: "Lamont backs Obama in race for White House"

by Neil Vigdor, Stamford Advocate, January 12, 2008

http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-lamont3jan12,0,6775598.story

A return invitation to Hillary Rodham Clinton’s home for coffee might not be in the cards for Ned Lamont, who sat in the former first lady’s living room and talked campaign strategy after his stunning Senate primary victory 19 months ago.

Lamont, who personified the antiwar movement with his candidacy against fellow Democrat Joe Lieberman in 2006, said he is backing Barack Obama to be the party’s nominee for president.

“Look, she was a very straight shooter during our campaign. But, at the end of the day, I made the decision not on who was the most helpful to my campaign, but on who I thought would make the best president,” Lamont said in a telephone interview yesterday.

The wealthy Greenwich cable executive said Obama, who won Iowa’s Jan. 3 Democratic caucus but lost Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary to Clinton, has the “tone and temperament to make Washington work again.”

Lamont initially threw his support to Connecticut’s Sen. Chris Dodd, who dropped out of the race after receiving less than 1 percent of the vote in the Iowa caucus won handily by Obama.

“I just think Barack Obama is a person who seems to bring out the best in people,” Lamont said. “I think he’s got the best opportunity to make a real difference. I just think it’s been a tough seven years for the country.”

A campaign spokeswoman for Obama said the Illinois senator shared many of the same values as Lamont, from refusing to accept political donations from Washington lobbyists to what the spokesperson said was the courage to oppose the war in Iraq and put people before special interests.

“Ned Lamont is a strong, progressive leader who understands the power of the grassroots,” said Obama spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “Senator Obama is proud to have his support for his campaign.”

Clinton’s campaign is scheduled to announce what it described as a key endorsement of its own this morning, said a spokesman for the New York senator, who had no comment about Lamont.

In five short months, Lamont went from political obscurity as a former Greenwich selectman to being the Democratic Senate nominee in 2006. He rode a tide of opposition to Lieberman’s support of the Iraq war and perceived closeness with President Bush to beat the incumbent in a historic primary that featured appearances from several famous political surrogates.

Former President Clinton campaigned in Waterbury for Lieberman before the primary but vowed with his wife to support the eventual nominee, which turned out to be Lamont. Lieberman’s aides downplayed the alliance, pointing out that Hillary Clinton voted to authorize the war in Iraq.

In addition to pledging to raise money for Lamont in his general election rematch with Lieberman, Clinton also loaned Lamont’s campaign one of her top political strategists. Lieberman avenged his primary loss to Lamont that November with help from Republicans and unaffiliated voters.

Lamont said many prominent Democrats reached out to offer their support after he won the primary, including White House hopefuls Obama and John Edwards.

Obama, he said, donated money to his campaign and wrote a letter to supporters in the state soliciting contributions for Lamont.

With “tens of thousands” of supporters still on his mailing list and the other remnants of his campaign organization existing, Lamont said he hopes to return the favor.

“Right now, it’s get out the vote,” he said.

Lamont attended a May fundraiser for Obama at the Greenwich home of billionaire hedge fund manager Paul Tudor Jones II. Lamont and his wife, Annie, each gave $4,600, the maximum individual donation allowed for the primary and the general election, to Obama, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. The Washington, D.C., organization tracks the role of money in campaigns.

After Dodd bowed out of the White House race, Lamont said several other campaigns sought his support to varying degrees.

“Certainly, the Obama campaign was the most focused,” Lamont said, adding that he will do “whatever the campaign asks him to do.”

Obama’s campaign said Lamont will play a key role in the campaign leading up to the Feb. 5 Democratic primary in Connecticut, one of 23 states holding nominating contests on what is known as Super Tuesday.

“We hope to have Ned Lamont speaking on our behalf,” Psaki said.

Connecticut moved up its primary a month in hopes of getting more attention from the presidential candidates, which Lamont said creates the strong possibility that some contenders will visit before the big day.

“People know that their votes count and it makes a difference,” Lamont said. “It’s not often that Connecticut makes a difference. I think our primary is going to be more important than in years past.”

Copyright © 2008, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.