Delegates had to weigh two things at the Democratic state convention in Connecticut. One was the 18-year record of Senator Joseph Lieberman, who is seeking a fourth term. The other is how to deal with Mr. Lieberman’s support for the war in Iraq, which has become increasingly unpopular at home.

American troops in Iraq largely have been spared major combat this Christmas weekend, following a week that saw 14 US military personnel killed in a suicide bomb blast in a dining facility in Mosul. Earlier this month Connecticut Army National Guard Specialist Robert Hoyt was killed in action at age 21. Hoyt was born on the Fourth of July in 1983.