The World Around You

Al Gore has every right to jump on the bandwagon, but didn’t the man who stood by him through the last election and waited for him to make up his mind this year before throwing his hat in the ring deserve at least a phone call?

In a written statement earlier in the day, Mr. Lieberman pointedly noted how he had remained loyal to Mr. Gore. “I have a lot of respect for Al Gore,” he said. “That is why I kept my promise not to run if he did.”

Even after Mr. Gore’s intentions had spread through news reports early yesterday evening, Jano Cabrera, Mr. Lieberman’s chief spokesman, said that Mr. Gore had not called his onetime running mate to alert him. But Mr. Lieberman’s aides said the campaign was not caught completely by surprise because officials had been hearing rumors of an endorsement of Dr. Dean for days.

Mr. Lieberman and his aides said he would not change his strategy, which is to try to place third or better in the first primary state of New Hampshire and then go on to win a significant number of states on Feb. 3, when the primaries move to the South and the West.

Still, there were signs the Lieberman campaign was scrambling. His aides decided to keep the fund-raiser closed to the news media last night, after considering opening it for coverage, and canceled a campaign event planned for this afternoon before a Democratic debate in New Hampshire.