He wasn't always the skunk at the garden party

These days Joe Lieberman is treated in some quarters in Connecticut like the skunk at a garden party, but the fact that he's been elected to the U.S. Senate four times has got to count for something.

Lieberman lost to Ned Lamont in the 2006 Senate primary, but won a fourth six-year term by defeating Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger in the general election. Sure, he only got 49.7 percent of the vote, but a narrow victory is a lot better than defeat.

Lieberman drew the intense displeasure of a lot of Democrats by his strong support for the Iraq war (a war that President Obama has continued to this day, while ramping up the war in Afghanistan to boot), and pretty much sealed the deal with them when he spoke at the 2008 Republican National Convention that nominated John McCain for president.

Senate Democrats still put up with him because they need his vote, and he calls himself an Independent Democrat.

Well, it seems to me that if your party casts you aside in a primary, and you win reelection as an independent anyhow, you're entitled to take independent positions.

Frankly, the cynicism of politics was on perfect display in 2006 after Lamont defeated Lieberman in the primary, when the very Democrats who had lauded him as a valued statesman, and endorsed him before the vote, abandoned any pretense of "friendship" the morning after. It was pretty much, Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

With his announcement last week that he won't run for reelection in 2012, Lieberman may be acknowledging that he would have a very difficult race in the current climate. But that doesn't negate the exemplary service he's given to Connecticut citizens since his days in the state senate, as state Attorney General, and his 22 years (and counting) in the U.S. Senate.

Brown bag lunch, hold the sandwiches

When Diane Farrell was Westport's first selectwoman, she routinely held "brown bag lunches" every Wednesday at Town Hall. They were routine for Farrell, and they were so routine for the townspeople who attended that they actually brought their lunches and munched on sandwiches while Farrell answered questions about the variety of topics that were on people's minds.

The current first selectman, Gordon Joseloff, holds these events less often, and thus they're more newsworthy when they do happen.

And the "brown bag lunch" in the first selectman's conference room last Monday was anything but routine. By my count, about 60 people attended, but a good dozen were journalists: newspaper reporters, editors, TV people. They all came to see and hear a guest speaker whose mere presence was very newsworthy under the circumstances.

Fourth District Congressman Jim Himes held forth on a variety of topics for an hour: immigration, the environment, budgets, the usual. But the newspeople were most interested in hearing what Himes had to say about tragic events in Arizona that occurred just 48 hours earlier: the shooting of some 20 people at a shopping center in Tucson. Six people were killed, including a 9-year-old girl and a federal judge; another dozen people were injured, including one of Himes' colleagues, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Himes was measured and thoughtful in his remarks about the events: there's a story at minutemannewscenter.com.

But the "lunch" was newsworthy because it was a constituent event rather like the sort that "Gabby" Giffords was conducting when she was shot and gravely wounded. Himes, a friend of Giffords, said he was a little nervous under the circumstances, and he imagined that the participants at the "brown bag lunch" might be a little nervous too.

But Himes was there, meeting the public, the public was there, asking him questions, and the reporters were there, covering the whole thing. That's America, and Himes was absolutely right in holding to his previously announced schedule by attending.

But it was the last thing from routine. Nobody even ate lunch.

Storms can blow nasty political winds

It's a simple thing, really, if you're a mayor or first selectman. After a big snowstorm, make sure residents can leave their homes to go to work or school, or wherever else they want to go, within a reasonable amount of time after the bad weather hits.
For New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, things really weren't so simple after all, and there will be an investigation of what went wrong with the city's snow removal efforts. But whoever was at fault for the situation that resulted in some residents in the "outer" boroughs going for a week without seeing a snow plow on their streets, it will be Bloomberg who gets the blame. It's part of the mayor's job, as Mayor Lindsey discovered 45 years ago.
We haven't heard any complaints about snow removal in Westport following the recent storm. As soon as a few flakes started to fall on Sunday, Dec. 26, First Selectman Gordon Joseloff announced that the Town's emergency operations center was open for business, creating confidence among the populace that things were under control.
True, Westport and other towns in these parts weren't hit as hard as New York City. But Joseloff and other smart municipal leaders realize that it's their first responsibility to make sure the streets are clear, and if they aren't, there will be big political consequences.
We'd be interested to hear from any Westport residents whose experiences with the Town during the storm weren't satisfactory.

Avoiding future tragedies

The tragic death of 62-year-old Sharon Broecking has called renewed attention to the busy area of Post Road East where she was struck by a car Tuesday evening.

It's the second fatality in two years at nearly the same spot, an area where lots of pedestrians cross the road on their way to Stop & Shop. Ms. Broecking was struck by a car after she left the store; she was in the crosswalk, but it was already dark.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation into the accident, it seems clear that a traffic light is needed at the crosswalk, and First Selectman Gordon Joseloff is reported ready to renew his request to the state for that to happen. It needs to happen soon.

Back to the future for Goodwill

It was hard to make the argument -- although some people gave it their best shot -- that Goodwill Industries, which has been operating in Westport for half a century, doesn't have the right to move its facility a few hundred feet up the Post Road. So once the traffic issues were addressed, it was a pretty easy call, it seems to us, for the Planning & Zoning Commission to approve the site plan, as it did last week, unanimously.

And it was gratifying to read all the comments from Westporters on Westport Now, disagreeing with a store owner who had some problems with the "element" that Goodwill attracts. Goodwill has been a valued member of the community for 50 years, and this is hardly the time (a season of goodwill, remember) to be stiff-arming this fine organization.

We wish Goodwill Industries the best as it continues its mission of helping those most in need of help. Certainly in these uncertain economic times, we all may have come to realize that "There, but for the grace of God, go I."