FROM THE FORKWORTHY FILES

Bad Day In Lieberland (Dotty Lynch, Douglas Kiker, Steve Chaggaris, Clothilde Ewing and Smita Kalokhe, July 15, 2003, CBS News)

With phrases like "weekend of turmoil inside the campaign," "Joe Lieberman is in big trouble in the African American community" and "continuing problems raising money and keeping his finance staff organized" popping out of newspaper stories this morning, the Connecticut lawmaker and presidential hopeful probably wishes he’d stayed in bed.

Shari Yost, Lieberman’s top fundraiser, resigned on Monday after a weekend of discussions on how best to cut costs and "put Lieberman into position to compete with better-funded rivals," the Washington Post reports. Yost’s deputy, Jennifer Yocham, plans to resign as well. Several mid-level staffers also might quit. [...]

The staffing moves might indicate deeper problems for Lieberman, the Post reports. One Democratic source said: "Nobody’s been running (the) campaign." [...]

Spending is also a major problem for the campaign. Lieberman is fifth among the nine Democratic candidates when it comes to cash on hand, with about $4 million in the bank, and Cabrera said Yost’s departure was in part based on a disagreement on how to cut overhead. Craig Smith, the campaign director, wanted to save some money by cutting Yost’s approximately $200,000 annual salary. Yost felt her department was bearing the brunt of the cuts, the Post reports, and wanted the pain spread throughout the campaign. Smith also objected to Yost’s reliance on traditional fundraising methods and wanted to try and focus on raising money over the Internet, a move Yost reportedly resisted.

Another bone of contention among some Lieberman staffers is apparently the six-figure salaries of two of Lieberman's children, who are working full-time for their Dad. The campaign announced Monday that each will take a 20 percent pay cut and said it was not unusual for candidates to hire their children as staffers.

It's been obvious for some time that this is merely a vanity campaign, apparently a lucrative one for the Liebermans. Posted by Orrin Judd at July 15, 2003 2:53 PM