Heard this a.m. that Gore made his choice of running mate - Joe Lieberman. Am I alone in thinking this is a bonehead move? I believe a poor choice of running mate is more likely to hurt a candidate, than a good choice will help (can you say Thomas Eagleton?). I do not believe Gore needed to seek out the Jewish vote. I also believe a number of people will automatically question whether they want to vote for an orthodox jewish person to be “a heartbeat away.”
I’m not sure which choice would have helped Gore’s chances, I think a number of choices would have not mattered much either way, and I think this is just about the only choice he could have made that is more politically disadvantageous than choosing a woman (my emotional but not pragmatic preference).
For the record, I am certainly not thrilled with Big Al, but I am terrified about the thought of the Supremes getting any more conservative.
Once again, Gore has passed up an opportunity to present a clear message (pick a message, any message), and has instead invited questions. And IMO questions do not enhance electability.
I’ve never been convinced that Mr. Gore’s tenure as the Vice President is anything more (or less) than our beloved president suggests.
It wouldn’t surprise me at all if the choice were a “suggestion” from the DNC (AKA Bill Clinton) that has as its intended affect, the propping up of Hilary Clinton in her quest for the Senate.
Forgive me if I am blind. But just how does picking a Senator from Conn. who happens to be Jewish help Hillary’s campaign?
Lieberman seems an odd choice, maybe more like Chenney than Al would like to admit.
On the surface it seems a wan reaction to the constant drumbeat from W on Bubba’s sleeze factor - despite W’s recent denial. (Lieberman was the first prominent Democrat to denounce Billy’s intern tryst.)
I would hope that it is not Al’s way of saying to W: “You think you’re inclusive? Look who I picked as a v.p.!” But Lieberman (CT folks please correct me) does not appear as a passionate, intense politician that most candidates pick as a v.p. when they don’t select someone from a key state.
I would guess that most Republicans will be pleased. Lieberman brings nothing to the Gore campaign, Chenney will have a good showing in any debate (if there is one), the racist scum now supporting Tough Guy Pat might return, and the Gore campaign continues in its reactive mode.
If Lieberman can persuade alienated Nader liberals to come to their senses (and this remains to be seen), perhaps the choice has some value.
IMHO, this election is shooting for a record low turnout.
I guess I overlooked the fact that the selection probably locked up Conn. for Big Al, if that is what he was looking for!
I also find amusing the discussion of this as a “courageous” choice. What adjectives would have been used had Dubya chosen someone on the, shall we say, extreme end of the christian spectrum?
Speaking as a Jew (shh! Don’t tell Buchanan!) I can understand why this choice will assist Hillary Clinton’s campaign.
It’s going to send a godawful amount of NY Jews to the polls in November, it’s going to send them thinking Democrat, and it’s liable to override their caution regarding Hillary Clinton.
Jews usually vote democratic (so my reb tells me)(weak cite, I know) but they don’t always VOTE. This will bring them out in droves.
J Chance
So you are saying the the Jewish Americans in NY will vote Dem just because they might get a Jew in as VP?? What’s next?? Assasination to get him in office?
Please. Perhaps I am wrong, but I do give people more credit than that.
Oh come off it Asmodeus. If W had picked a female canidate you would have had a lot of women switching votes. Youwould have also had male-chauvinists switching to Gore, just cause they don’t like women. If a black canidate was chosen, african americans would vote, just caue they would think they would get more sympathy. Also racists would change their vote. And frankly, your insinuation that Jews would resort to assisination is patently offensive.
Oldscratch
It was meant as sarcasm…forgive me.
Sorry. My apologies. I’ve been running on very little sleep lately. I didn’t recognize it when I saw it. My bad.
FWIW, when Lieberman first ran for Senate, he was endorsed by William F. Buckley Jr. (!) , who wrote some columns saying some nice things about him. (IIRC, WFB was mostly doing this to get Lowell Weicker out of the Senate. He really disliked Weicker.)
Don’t know how conservative Leiberman is these days, though.
Speaking as a Catholic conservative… I happen to like the Lieberman choice. Oh, I don’t intend to vote for the Democrats in any event, but I think Lieberman is an intelligent, highly honorable guy. I have far fewer problems with a possible President Lieberman than I would with a possible President Gore.
It appears that both Bush AND Gore were more interested in Vice Presidents who were experienced, loyal and capable than in guys who add a lot to the campaign. I LIKE Dick Cheney a lot, but I don’t see him attracting any voters who wouldn’t have gone Republican anyway. And there’s absolutely NO chance that Joe Lieberman will attract votes for the Democrats.
Now, I do NOT believe that the Democrats will suffer because there’s a Jew on the ticket. I happen to think there are very few rabid anti-semites, and those kooks probably wouldn’t have voted for Gore anyway. But…
A black or Hispanic running mate might have motivated millions of unregistered blacks and Hispanic to get registered to vote. But for all practical purposes, 100% of American Jews already vote, and the overwhelming majority of them already vote a straight Democratic ticket. So, Joe Lieberman is the equivalenty of Cheney: he has the makings of a great vice President, maybe even the makings of a fine President… but an absolute waste, in terms of campaign strategy.
Not to interject any creepiness into the discussion but I’ve already heard ‘assassin squad’ jokes from 3 seperate jewish pals.
There’s a real buzz in the Jewish community (at least mine) about Lieberman getting the nomination. I really think that Bush is going to be hard pressed to clear more than 10 jewish votes nationwide.
Doctor J said in another thread:
That’s why I think this is a great choice for Gore. I may not like Lieberman’s political ideas, and I think of both Lieberman and Gore as centrist (I’m for Nader), but that choice will do well for Gore.
Consider:
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Bush could not have picked anyone to the left of him. The religious right would have cried bloody murder if that had happened. So he picks Cheney, he probably will not help him against Gore all that much.
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If Gore had picked someone to the left of him, (e.g., a Kerry/Kerrey) then he would get undecideds picking him instead of Nader, adding one vote for Gore and not helping him with Bush, which is where Gore’s real worries lie. By picking Lieberman, Gore could take undecideds from Bush, gaining himself a vote and taking one from Bush.
I like Gore’s prospects now and think it’ll be safe to have people vote for Nader (as I can’t myself…too young) even with the Supreme Court on the line this election.
Bush wasn’t going to get 10 Jewish votes nationwide anyway.
To their credit, Jews are by far the most politically active ethnic group in America. Almost all of them are registered to vote, almost all of them vote, and almost all of them are liberal Democrats.
So… while Jews MAY vote for Al Gore with more enthusiasm than they would have otherwise, they CAN’T possibly give Al more votes than they otherwise would have.