Ned Lamont Speaks

This morning's Wall Street Journal provides a platform for Ned Lamont, the fellow who last week nearly lost a Democratic primary in Connecticut to George Bush's best buddy. Ned explains:

In 1984, with a loan from People's Bank, I started Campus TeleVideo from scratch. Our offer was unique: Rather than provide a one-size-fits-all menu of channels, we let the customers design their cable system based on the character of the community being served.

From the moment I filled out that loan application, I've been in every part of the business -- pulling cable, hiring workers, picking a good health-care plan, closing deals, listening to customers and fixing problems. It's been profitable, and it's been instructive, a quintessentially American experience. Here, entrepreneurs have the freedom to be successful in ways the rest of the world admires.

These defining lessons of my business experience are central in my campaign . . . .

I'm sure they are.

The question is just exactly what those lessons were. Someone ought to tell Neddy that getting rich from a government-granted monopoly like cable television isn't exactly the same cutting-edge, pioneering spirit shown in having a go at the hardware business in Deadwood. And we're quite sure, of course, that Neddy -- scion of old Wall Street wealth and Harvard connections -- didn't use any family juice to put in the fix when the cable franchise was granted.