Until this week it was just a secret. But now it’s out.It started on Monday with the news that Joe Lieberman was going to be the Democrats’ vice presidential candidate.A half-suspicion that began listening to Howard Stern poke fun at the Connecticut senator in the morning, grew stronger during the day. That evening the feeling became intense.Wolf Blitzer was on CNN interviewing Jeff Greenfield about going to law school with Lieberman in the ’60s. Then he got comments from Norman Orenstein of the American Enterprise Institute and Stuart Rothenberg, the political analyst, and even Ari Fleisher, George W. Bush’s spokesman.There was a brief mention on the news that police chief Howard Safir would be stepping down, but then it was back to the big story.Larry King was mixing it up with Barbara Boxer of California and Chuck Schumer of New York, and everywhere one surfed on the TV that night, there was Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.Rabbi David Saperstein was on “Nightline,” though Ted Koppel was off.By then the feeling was overwhelming. Sleep was out of the question.Early the next morning, the Times arrived on the doorstep, a banquet of Lieberman coverage, including Adam Clymer on the Republican reaction, Laurie Goodstein on the Christians and Clyde Haberman on the Jews.By the time one read Sam Freedman’s piece on the op-ed page (next to, but not to be confused with, Tom Friedman) it was clear the gig was up. There was no use pretending.Everyone knew:Everyone’s Jewish.
The New York Jewish Week brings you the stories behind the headlines, keeping you connected to Jewish life in New York. Help sustain the reporting you trust by donating today.
