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"Miracles happen!"--U.S. Sen. Joseph Isadore Lieberman, D-Conn.
A much overused word, miracle, but reasonable enough when applied to recovery from a serious illness or a narrow escape from a maddened band of marauders.
Curious, then, that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman would apply it to his selection as the running mate of the man who would include the first impeached American head of state of the 20th century among the greatest in history.
Yes, Joe Lieberman, stern castigator and loyal absolver, has a strange perspective on miracles, particularly those of the political variety, which are known more commonly as paybacks.
Certainly, Lieberman was due a payback, being largely responsible for saving Bill Clinton's presidency by following an impressive early condemnation of the
president's "immoral" behavior with an
intense, albeit unsuccessful, effort to
subvert the Senate trial required by the Constitution and then casting his own vote to acquit.
Not that a vice-presidential nomination should prove much of a payback in terms of payout, for astute American voters have noticed that Lieberman talks the talk, but walks somewhat differently.
As Washington Post writers Mike Allen and Amy Goldstein noted with regard to "the Lieberman formula" earlier this week, "Lieberman has been a reliable vote for the Democratic leadership, but has often taken stands on cultural issues that might put him more at home across the aisle"--and make him more attractive to the more conservative masses.
It's like a political colleague who knows him well observed Monday night on one of those talking-heads cable shows: Lieberman often may sound like a Republican, but when it comes to voting, he generally falls in with his fellow Democratic partisans. The exception is on those occasions when he talks like a Democrat; then he usually votes like a Republican.
In other words, Lieberman's what passes in today's Washington for a centrist.
I've run into a few such centrists in my time. They're the courtly, even stately fellows who tell you in the hallway that they're going to vote one way and then walk into the Senate chamber and vote the other.
It's going to be entertaining to observe as this alleged moderate begins moderating his purported conservative views to accommodate the liberalism of the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Al Gore. School vouchers, Social Security, national defense, abortion, affirmative action, taxes--so many issues, so few seamless transitions.
But if anyone can carry it off, Lieberman can. He's so very accomplished when it comes to palatability, as you might expect from a founding member of the political machine that gave us Clinton-Gore, i.e. the Democratic Leadership Council.
Still, I predict the clarification of Lieberman--he would never be so crass as to try to actually redefine himself--will go well for all concerned. He is so soft-spoken and so righteous that much about him goes unnoticed outside the Senate, where he is greatly (if not unanimously) respected.
(For example, how many of you knew before now that one of the volunteers in Lieberman's first campaign for elective office--a state Senate seat in Connecticut, which he won--was a young Yale law student named Bill Clinton?)
What concerns me about the Lieberman candidacy--and it's a concern that other observers of the political scene share--is the distinct possibility that so much will be made of his Jewishness, including his orthodoxy and his Zionism, that his politics, his record, his core beliefs vis-ˆ-vis his ultimate actions will escape scrutiny.
As a Sephardic Jew of my acquaintance observed, "It is just Jew, Jew, Jew, Jew as regards anything written about Lieberman, and [the media] will filter everything he says through this prism. This is a worrisome thing."
He was speaking not out of concern that anti-Semitism will color the election results--my friend is not a great admirer of Clinton-Gore or its offshoots--but out of concern that Lieberman's religion will color most things reported and observed about him.
Make no mistake, though: Lieberman is a Triple A politician: ambitious, astute, adaptable. Of these, perhaps the greatest is adaptable. Indeed, he has proved his adaptability, in his voting, in his mediating, in his righteous stands against unpopular matters, by the continued high regard in which he is held by those who have worked with him over the years. Heck, even William Bennett loves him! Calls Lieberman his "favorite Democrat!"
On balance, one would have to say that Gore chose well. He managed to break another precedent, a la Walter Mondale with Geraldine Ferraro, while choosing a running mate who has such a strong aura as a Clinton critic that it just might overshadow the fact that he fought mightily to salvage the Clinton presidency, not merely in the wake of the Monica Lewinsky scandal but with regard to the countless instances of Clinton's questionable White House fund-raising events. It may go virtually unnoticed, too, that he repeated the pattern with Gore and his dubious fund-raising activities at the Buddhist temple.
Who says you need military experience to be a good soldier?
Associate Editor Meredith Oakley's column appears every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
For example, how many of you knew before now that one of the volunteers in Lieberman's first campaign for elective office--a state Senate seat in Connecticut, which he won--was a young Yale law student named Bill Clinton?
Quote of the Day by ArcLight & Predict the Gore bounce
Bump.
Lieberman, like the other politicians in the DLC, are liberals who are uncomfortable with the label because voters shy away from it. Notice that the Washington Times is reporting that Lieberman has already started weaseling his positions on school vouchers (formerly for, now opposed) and some privatization of Social Security (formerly for, now opposed). Soon we may be treated to the spectacle of Mr. Lieberman saying that yes, Al Gore was right, Clinton is one of the best presidents the United States ever had. Can they fool enough of the people enough of the time? How long will it take Clinton-Gore to strip Joe Lieberman of his reputation?
My take is that voters, in general, will quickly tire of being continuously reminded that Lieberman is a Jew. By yesterday afternoon, I could hardly stand to read another article that began, "Sen. Lieberman, the first Jewish candidate...". The more the libs and press try to shove LIEberman's religion down our collective throat, the more it is going to be a negative, IMNHO.
payback
(pE2bak1)
n. To
borrow from Ben-Gurion -- Lieberman, in order to live with
his self-righteous, hypocritical, opportunistic, and, yes --
immoral -- self, must
believe in miracles.
bump
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
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