In a campus visit plugging New Hampshire's Democratic candidates and urging Dartmouth students to vote in several close state races, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) also criticized the White House for focusing on the war on terrorism rather than the sagging economy.
Lieberman delivered his speech -- given to introduce the New Hampshire Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Mark Fernald -- to a crowd of pizza-munching students who had packed Brace Commons over an hour before the event began, chatting excitedly while they waited for Fernald and Lieberman to arrive.
The former vice-presidential candidate invoked his experience as Gore's running mate in the hotly-contested 2000 presidential election to demonstrate the importance of political participation in several close New Hampshire races, including the gubernatorial race and those for the U.S. House and Senate.
"As an alumnus of the election of 2000, I can tell you that every vote really does count -- or at least should be counted," he said, a comment that unintentionally earned him knowing laughter from the crowd.
Lieberman added that control of Congress -- and possibly the future of the U.S. economy and involvement in Iraq -- hangs in the balance.
"Congress will essentially become a rubber stamp for the White House if both houses go Republican," he warned, noting that while the Bush administration has provided adequate leadership in the war on terrorism, "They have absolutely failed to provide leadership in an area that affects Americans every day: the economy."
Contrasting current statistics about unemployment and the federal deficit with those from former President Bill Clinton's last term in office, Lieberman praised Democratic financial policies, but did not elaborate on the specifics of New Hampshire candidates' financial records or platforms.
"There has been a remarkable transformation in the records of the two parties," he said. "Today it's the Democratic Party that is the party of economic responsibility and fiscal hope."
Lieberman's emphasis on domestic over foreign policy marked a notable shift in focus, given that he has been vocal in the Senate deliberations about war with Iraq and voted in favor of war.
Addressing U.S.-Iraqi relations only when audience members questioned him, Lieberman reiterated past statements about the need for strong leadership -- should war prove inevitable -- like that the U.S. government demonstrated in Germany and Japan after World War II.
Lieberman also stressed the need for tolerance, downplaying his role in a statement from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni that criticized anti-war professors as unpatriotic.
Although the tenor of his speech was sober, Lieberman made an effort to connect with his audience, joking about intra-Ivy League rivalries between himself and the Harvard-educated Al Gore and between the Yale and Dartmouth football teams.
"As a Yale grad, I didn't think it was very nice of you to win that last game," he said.
Despite commenting on federal domestic and foreign policy, though, Lieberman said that in his experience he has found that the American public is not likely to base their choice of candidate on a single issue, but rather "on the measure of your person."
This year, New Hampshire voters have a slate of worthy Democrats on the ballot, Lieberman said, urging votes for Fernald, current governor and U.S. Senate candidate Jeanne Shaheen and congressional hopeful Katrina Swett.
Fernald, who focused his speech on the need to change New Hampshire's property-tax based system to a more equitable one based on income tax, also put in plugs for his fellow New Hampshire Democratic candidates.
"This year all the good people have 'D's next to their names," he said.
But despite efforts to hype the November election, students said the main pull of the speech was Lieberman rather than an interest in Fernald or the New Hampshire races.
Jordan Edmundson '06 was among a slew of students snapping photographs of the senator. "I'm a Republican," he said, "But I want to have pictures to show my friends and say 'Hey, look who came to Dartmouth.'"
