241 Pizza

Significantly, even Mr Gore - who is spoken of as a possible contender for 2008 - has refused to rally to his former running mate in his hour of need, saying: "I am not involved. I typically do not get involved in primary elections." At last on of the Senator's supporters has suggested suggest that Mr Gore is now so obsessed with global warming that he has become a "fair-weather friend". He certainly knows which way the wind is blowing.

Mr Lieberman thinks his troubles are partly a consequence of what he calls the "rigidly, reflexively partisan" atmosphere in Washington that has been created by the polarising force of Mr Bush’s presidency. Democrats are under more pressure than ever before to stand up to the administration, but he insists on reaching out and seeking common ground.

This has helped sustain his popularity among the wider electorate in Connecticut but that does not do him much good when he needs to win the support of the Democratic selectorate on August 8 - a time when soft supporters are on holiday and only the most committed activists are certain to vote.

For them, Iraq is the number one issue and Mr Lamont has been ruthlessly tapping into their anger. In a televised debate on Thursday, the two contenders repeatedly clashed over the issue.

Although Mr Lieberman accused his challenger of "flip-flopping" on how and when to withdraw troops, Mr Lamont declared he "absolutely" supported setting a deadline for bringing US soldiers home. This is a view shared only by a minority of Democratic Senators, most of whom support a vaguer timeline for withdrawal. Mr Lieberman is among only six who voted against beginning to pull troops out at all, saying that to do so too soon would be a "disaster" for both the US and Iraq.

In an interview in his Greenwich offices yesterday, Mr Lamont said the Senator had not only been a "cheerleader for war" but had gone "out of his way to question the integrity and even the patriotism" of Democrats who urge a different course.

Thursday night's debate was characterised by Mr Lieberman’s sustained aggression as he fought back with every trick in the book.

He complained that Mr Lamont was trying to win a Democratic primary by running against the unpopular Republican president before invoking one of the most famous exchanges in recent debating history: Lloyd Bentsen’s slap at Dan Quayle in 1988 for comparing himself to John F Kennedy.

"I know George Bush. I’ve worked against George Bush. I’ve even run against George Bush. But Ned, I’m not George Bush," Mr Lieberman said. "So why don’t you stop running against him and have the courage and honesty to run against me and the facts of my record."

Mr Lamont believes such tactics may have backfired, as he cited Mr Lieberman’s own vice-presidential debate against Dick Cheney in 2000 when he had been "genial Joe - it was like a tea-party compared to how he as with me. I think he seemed very angry with me, but why does he only really get angry with other Democrats?"

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