Al Gore’s pick of Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut as his running
mate not only is a political stunner, but also reveals an unexpected Gore shrewdness that
belies his maligned stuffiness.
Why shrewd?
Because Lieberman robs Republican strategists of a red meat liberal target
they expected Gore to name as his veepmate.
As Republicans well know, Lieberman by deed and temperament is impeccably
moderate to conservative in his politics. In fact, Lieberman qualifies as something of a
maverick among Senate Democrats, as John McCain did with his own contrarian views and
positions that defied GOP stereotypes.
Lieberman partnered with the conservative Republican guru of virtue,
William Bennett, in their "Silver Sewer Awards" project exposing and attacking
filth in film entertainment.
He supports the Republican proposal to allow Americans to make private
investments of some Social Security taxes.
He rallied votes to support President Bush’s campaign against Saddam
Hussein in the Gulf War.
He favors the death penalty.
He’s widely known as deeply religious and moral.
And so it goes with Lieberman’s views, many mirroring Republican
votes in Washington.
But his noblest moment in the political spotlight came when he took to the
Senate floor to denounce President Clinton’s peccadillo with Monica Lewinsky as
"immoral." This surely will quiet Republicans who’re trying to transfer
Clinton’s sins to Gore for the campaign.
So, if Lieberman’s record douses cold water on some of the Republican
strategy, what other pluses does he have for the pepless Gore campaign?
He’ll keep organized labor from straying from the fold. He also has
strong appeal to independents, even some Republicans who gag on the GOP’s
ultra-conservative platform.
Picking a Jew is a gutsy move by Gore as well. But since John
Kennedy’s Catholicism literally abolished prejudices in politics, Lieberman’s
religion will be of no consequence except to bigots.
As a footnote, Jews have been in U.S. politics for years: Republican
presidential candidate Barry Goldwater had a Jewish father. Idaho elected the
nation’s first Jewish governor. Eleven U.S. senators are Jewish.
Reaction to Gore’s selection has drawn glowing bipartisan reaction.
Even Senate Republican colleagues characterize Lieberman as a man of integrity, loyalty,
honesty, studious intelligence, an ability to influence and persuade.
Republican George W. Bush’s veepmate, Dick Cheney, should’ve
been so lucky in the days after his selection. Cheney has been defending or explaining his
votes in congress that critics brand as to the right of that GOP outcast, the now scarce
and unlamented Newt Gingrich.
Cynical political railbirds who’ve mocked Gore are apt to revise
their estimates of his capacity to grasp the challenges of a presidential campaign.
The contrast between George W.’s choice and Gore’s is stark:
Bush turned to a retread from his father’s cabinet to shore up the Republican
campaign, while Gore defied the odds by recruiting a running mate that will make voters
sit up and take notice.
Wouldn’t it be something if the 2000 vice presidential race attracted
as much attention as the main men?
