This has to be the most bizarre VP choice in recent memory. He brings more negatives to the ticket than he does positives.
Now I’m not knocking Lieberman – he’s probably less greasy than most politicians. But his selection to the Democratic ticket makes little sense.
Lieberman is MUCH further “right” than is Gore. So much so that Lieberman has aligned himself with many of the Republican positions.
What is anyone’s take on this? Is there anyone that thinks that this will actually help the Democrats? Is it a trial balloon to allow Gore to read the political winds in time to announce his real candidate at the convention?
I think that is the whole idea. He favored the Gulf war. He favored getting rid of Clinton. Those are two issues which Gore’s other choices would have had big probs with versus Bush/Cheney.
He spoke quite harshly on Clinton’s actions, but he refused to “cross over” the party position and endorsed everyone “forgiving” the indiscretions/crimes.
Lieberman as his announced running mate is semi-official. Until election paperwork is filed, Gore can change his mind ad nauseum. I guess picking someone else next week would allow Gore to reinvent himself again…
Astonishing, with the Democrats being so liberal, that they’d pick a vice-presidential candidate who’s allied himself with Republican issues on many an occasion. Huh.
By reading the articles on Lieberman’s website, he’s very pro-censorship.
I’m sure he and Tipper will get along fine.
On the Clinton issue: he was one of the first Democrats to condemn Clinton for it, but Mr. Bill’s been his friend for thirty years and was an assistant on his staff when Lieberman first ran for state Senator.
That’s part of the puzzle. For a Democrat, Lieberman is alright. I just can’t imagine why he’s on the ticket unless Gore is trying to splinter the centrist voters.
Instead of picking a candidate that was like-minded. Someone that helped define the ticket, Gore has muddled off into space and said “we stand for whatever we want to stand for”.
Pick an issue, any issue – we’ve already supported both sides of it.
His voting record really isn’t that off base. In '98 he voted with the president 83% of the time, and 80% he voted party line. But because he is particularly outspoken about defense spending, Clinton’s immorality, and the censorship of violence in the entertainment industry he has acquired a right-wing reputation. Sure, I think his stance on censorship is pure malarky, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a party line democrat in most other areas.
One of the criticisms coming from “offical Democratic spokepeople” on Bush’s pick of Cheney was that Cheney was a old white guy, and wasn’t it typical of Republicans to pick an old white guy. Gore promised something exciting.
So, he picks an old white guy.
Now, I don’t consider either Cheney or Lieberman “old.” But if the shoe fits for Cheney, the Democrats have to wear it too. Personally, I think they are both good picks. But if Cheney makes one think of “WASPy banker,” then I guess Lieberman is “Jewish professor.”
I hope the Republicans don’t lower thenselves to the level of the Democrats in attacking the vice-presidential pick. Lieberman is a good man, as is Cheney. The best thing “official Republican spokespeople” could do is say “good pick; we look forward to debating the issues.” We’ll see.
It seems to me he is just positioning himself a little farther to the right. Nadar seems to have a lot of support among the farther left voters, not enough to win, but enough to take many votes. Gore would have to move really far to the left to get the voters away from Nadar, and risk alienating the middle. So instead he is abandoning those voters and and trying to sidestep a little more to the conservative side to try and make up the difference with moderates, and conservative moderates.
I read the title of this thread as an exhortation, and I thought, “Good suggestion!”
Hmm. I was going to vote Democratic because I finally decided Separation of Church and State was my key issue. Then Gore starts spouting off about his faith, supports giving government money to churches for “charitable” programs, and now picks Lieberman, who is for school vouchers and censorship, to be VP?
I’m just as glad I already decided to vote Green. Not that I’m in love with Nader - I just want to send a message. If the Reform party ever offered a decent candidate, I’d go with them, but Buchanan makes me puke, for obvious reasons.
I’m in a similar bind. I don’t want to see Bush in the White House and work for a left-wing political organization. But a vote for Gore at this point does not agree with my conscience. A Nader vote is almost as unpleasant: his refusal to deal with “gonadal politics” is disturbing, to say the least. Maybe I will weigh in for Harry Browne, too.
Obviously, the senator was chosen for the hunk factor & his dynamic personality. But it really doesn’t matter, because this ticket’s going down in November.
I think it was a pretty bright choice, if I’m reading Gore’s strategy right.
There are three groups of people that should be targeted by the candidates right now–those torn between 1.) Bush and Buchanan, 2.)Gore and Bush, and 3.)Gore and Nader. (There may be a few voters torn otherwise, but not many. It would also be wise to reach out to those who don’t vote at all, but how do you go about that, exactly?)
There are also two important PR moments at this point in the election–the VP choice, and the Convention.
Bush gave a moment to each side. He reached out to the far right by nominating Cheney, and old-school Rich White Guy Republican. Then he reached for the other side at the convention by parading gay and minority Republicans across the stage and with his “we have to use this prosperity” schtick.
Gore will likely do the same thing. He has nominated someone to his political right (I hate representing politics on a line, but it works in this case) for the VP spot, reaching out to those Gore-Bush swingers. I would bet that he will use the convention to appeal to the more liberal wing of his party.
As for me personally, the last thing Al Gore needs to do to court my vote is reach out to moderates and conservatives. I’m still voting Nader. But Lieberman seems to be a respectable guy, even if I might disagree with what he says. I don’t really know enough to pass judgement.
Dr. J
PS: I don’t think the Jew thing is going to hurt Gore at all. People who wouldn’t vote for someone just because he’s a Jew (8% of Americans, according to one poll I saw) probably weren’t planning to vote Democratic anyway.
SouthernStyle: The choice is not as bizarre as it seems. Gore is going to lose this election in November, and I think a major factor will be the fact that many Independents and conservative Democrats, myself included, are thoroughly sick and tired of the Clintons’ mendacity and lack of scruples. That disgust has rubbed off on Al Gore.
Although Lieberman voted against impeaching Slick Willie, he was quite critical of the president’s conduct. I think Gore picked him simply to try to persuade some of the indies and Reagan Dems to vote for Gore this November.
This morning, I looked at a newspaper article of the list of four candidates that Gore was considering for veep. I cannot remember the other two, but I would say that Lieberman brings more to the ticket than Evan Bayh.
I think Leiberman was a good choice. No, he’s not pro-censorship; Spiritus Mundi, Satan, and Polycarp, among others, have sufficiently addressed that in another thread, I believe.
By the standards of those who make it as far as the US Senate, Leiberman’s a reasonably creative thinker. That scores a few points with me.
And, to all those who think the election’s a lock for Bush, what sort of odds can I get if I bet on Gore, and where can I put my money down? Personally, I rather like the veep’s prospects this year.
IMHO the selection of Lieberman shows that Gore realizes in electoral math, an undecided voter in the center is worth twice the value of an undecided voter on either wing. Losing a leftwing voter to Nader means one less vote for Gore, losing a centerist voter means one less vote for Gore plus one more vote for Bush. Judging from the Republican Convention choreography, it is obvious Bush is making the same calculation re rightwing vs. centerist voters.
