After seeing the post-convention polls putting him 17 points behind and momentum clearly going against him, Al Gore must have felt desperation. In order to place a barrier between him and the scandal-ridden Clinton-Gore administration he has made a surprising choice for Vice President by picking Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut. The highly popular and squeaky-clean senator enjoys wide support from both parties. Lieberman is probably the Democrat who is the most fundamentally different from Gore when it comes to issues of policy, morality, and electoral fair play.
Some of the main fundraisers for Al Gore (other than Buddhist monks) have been the likes of David Geffen and other Hollywood moguls. Lieberman has joined conservative Republicans to attack this very same entertainment industry for saturating America with sex, violence, and general immorality. In fact, a huge Democratic fundraiser will take place at the Playboy mansion during their convention. Even as recently as Tuesday's acceptance speech however, Lieberman spoke of the morality that seems to have been lost in our society. I can hardly imagine that the veep nominee will be throwing on his silk pajamas heading to Hugh Heffner's bash.
Al Gore has another problem, he is possibly the least charismatic person to run for the office in quite some time; and his choice certainly didn't do much to add charm to the ticket. Though Lieberman is a very well respected man in the gentile Senate, watching him deliberating from the floor about his moral crisis every time he makes a decision shows anything but the sparkling personality that Gore seems to need. The Cheney-Lieberman debates should prove to be intellectual but a real bore. But that is the least of Gore's worries. Lieberman does bring a great deal of appeal from moderate voters. The problem is that this appeal comes from his position on issues where he disagrees with Clinton-Gore.
Lieberman is by all accounts an honest, trustworthy man. He has been able to reach across the aisle and Trent Lott has even gone so far as to say that he is "one of our favorite Democrats." A man of deep moral faith; he is most famous to many Americans for his speech blasting Clinton in the Lewinsky scandal saying that "such behavior is not just inappropriate, it is immoral." He also suggested to senior staffers that it would be prudent of Attorney General Reno to investigate Gore's fundraising practices.
Let's take a look at some of the other issues that Lieberman is much more in line with the Republican ticket than with his potential boss. Lieberman has openly endorsed the possibility of experimenting with school vouchers to provide all children with an educational choice. Al Gore has called this a risky scheme. Lieberman has previously supported the idea of partially privatizing social security in order to increase the return for all retirees. Al Gore has also called this a risky scheme. Lieberman supports tort reform, the development of a missile defense system, and the list of risky schemes goes on. With Bush making education and social security reform two of the primary issues of this campaign, it leaves me to beg the question, is Lieberman supporting the right ticket?
Senator Lieberman's religion should not be the subject of debate; the requirements of following the Sabbath for an orthodox Jew have in no way taken away from his job as senator or as Attorney General of Connecticut and it will not as vice president. Anyone who criticizes his devotion to his religion has no place in the Republican party or anywhere in mainstream American politics and is not a vote that any candidate should vie for.
I am happy that Lieberman's faith in God often guides him as he makes tough decisions. My only criticism is that many Democrats criticized the same guiding faith in God by Texas Gov. George W. Bush. We should not criticize Lieberman praising God in his acceptance speech, but Bush should also not have been criticized when he said that Jesus was the most influential philosopher in his life during the primary debates.
Lieberman is a very qualified vice presidential candidate, in fact he'd probably be much more able to break partisan gridlock as president than Gore. Gore certainly took a big gamble on this choice, and it looks to be paying dividends early on. Unfortunately, the number two never gets to set the agenda, and Sen. Lieberman's sensible centrist philosophy will yield to Gore's tired old guard liberalism. When the moderate views of Lieberman are subjagated and he is forced to carry the Gore line, it is questionable that his initial appeal will last. If Bush was down 17 points going into his own convention, he probably would have selected John McCain, but he didn't have to. Way down in the polls Gore had to go for his own Hail Mary pass with Lieberman to try get him back in the game before he goes into the convention.
