Moments after Joe Lieberman delivered his retirement announcement at a Stamford hotel, his supporters were weighing in on the speech.
Lieberman seems at ease with his decision to retire from the U.S. Senate, said Roy Occhiogrosso, a senior aide to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Occhiogrosso, who has deep ties to Lieberman and stayed by his side during the contentious 2006 reelection campaign, called Lieberman's speech reflective and said it hit all the right notes.
"They say being a senator is the best job in politics,'' Occhiogrosso said, but Lieberman seems "comfortable with his decision." Politics, he added, has changed a great deal since Lieberman first ran for Senate in 1988.
Occhiogrosso, like many of the other supporters and friends who came to hear is speech, were contacted by longtime Lieberman adviser Sherry Brown yesterday.
Andrew McDonald, a former state senator from Stamford who now serves as Malloy's legal counsel, noted Lieberman's deep roots in Stamford. McDonald, who is 44, wasn't even in kindergarten when Lieberman's political career began.
"He made the right choice for him and there's no doubt that he's very comfortable with his decision,'' McDonald said after the speech.
Lieberman touched on what he considers the highlights of his Senate career but McDonald said the full extent of his legacy remains unwritten.
"Legacies are measured over a lifetime,'' McDonald said. "His legacy is not complete."