regarding joe lieberman: WHAT THE HELL WAS GORE THINKING???

[unblock]

it's always hard to play monday morning quarterback, even years later. perhaps lieberman was part of a closed-door deal and without him, gore would never have gotten the level of campaign funds he got or maybe even the nomination, who knows.

also, lieberman didn't then have the reputation he has earned himself since then.

but from today's perspective, it really looks like a bizarre decision....

:shrug:

[NYCGirl]

1. You answered your own question in your second statement. NT

[Jawja]

2. He was trying to distance

himself from Clinton and chose Holy Joe because he openly criticized Clinton's behavior re: Monica.

That's my take on it.

Bad move on both counts. He should NOT have distanced himself from Clinton and he should NOT have chosen Lieberman.

[Mugsy]

4. Bingo.

Joe was one of the few Democrats that voted to impeach Clinton, openly siding with Republicans. At the time, it was seen as "gutsy". Six years later, we now know the truth... Joe's a closet Republican. As Xerox Ann put it, he should just come out of the political closet and go on over to the other side.

[WI_DEM]

20. Lieberman didn't vot e to impeach Clinton

but he was highly critical.

[Gato Moteado]

3. it was a horrible decision......

joe looked awful on TV, sounded like a mushmouth and had no personality.

i think gore was concerned about florida and thought that picking a jewish-american running mate would charge up the jewish-american community in FL to go to the polls. the idea worked, i guess...unfortunately, a poorly designed butterfly ballot caused 20,000 of these jewish-americans to accidentally vote for pat buchanan.

anyway, it really didn't matter who gore picked as his running mate....he was still going to get the west palm beach and miami beach votes. he should have picked someone that would have siphoned more moderates, independents and good ol' boys. he should have picked bob graham.

oh well.

screw jow lieberman.

[unblock]

5. i remember the "he'll bring us florida" talk

and quite probably he DID deliver florida, but....

of course, usually when you want to carry a state, you get someone from the SAME state!

[cobalt1999]

13. yes he should have picked Graham.

all the republicans in Florida were worried to death he would pick Graham. When it was announced Gore had pick Joe, there was this hugh sigh of relief from all the republicans I know down here.

[WI_DEM]

22. yes, if he truly wanted someone who would bring Florida--Graham

would have been a better choice.

[Avalux]

6. Balance. Bad advice, just like now.

Gore seen as a liberal tree-hugger; Lieberman in the middle - the ticket was put together so moderates and maybe even a few conservatives would vote for Gore. As you've stated, since then, it's become clear how hawkish Lieberman really is; wasn't apparent then as he is somewhat liberal on social issues.

[Swamp Rat]

7. Fool him once...

[CBHagman]

8. This is all pre-Iraq war, however.

I was just checking Lieberman's 1990s ADA and AFL-CIO ratings (i.e., how his votes lined up with the positions of Americans for Democratic Action and the foremost labor union) in Who's Who in Congress. There are some years where the ratings drop a bit into centrist or even conservative areas, but generally he was pretty much towards the liberal side of the party. In fact, I recall that when Lieberman was selected as Gore's running mate, the first news story covering it referred to Gore's having selected "from the left."

Lieberman is known for being strongly pro-choice, which may have had something to do with how he was portrayed.

And don't forget that it's only during the Iraq war that the Republicans and their pundit allies discovered their fondness for Joe Lieberman. :eyes: The same crowd that screamed that Gore was trying to "steal" the election :eyes: leaps to the defense of Lieberman. Since he's no longer a threat to them, they can afford to make a pet of him.

At any rate, I am opposed to all knee-jerk evaluations of Lieberman, whether they come from 'cans or from fellow Democrats. I do object to a great deal of what Lieberman has done the past few years, but that doesn't cause me to forget he has a more complex record than one would expect.

[unblock]

10. maybe the "sore/loserman" crap got to him

they probably dogged him for years offering him a way to "redeem" himself and finally be a "winner".

:eyes:

[gatorboy]

9. By internet standards, Lieberman would be considered a troll. n/t

[Johonny]

11. I always thought

the Joe-Dick debate ended the election. Joe was unable to disagree with Dick Cheney on any issue. This in an election where extreme right wingers were pretending to be just like moderates.

[tdiscuss]

12. He was trying to get liberal voters and

the more conservative voters Lieberman would attract. Without Lieberman they would have gone to Bush.

[Bridget Burke]

25. Leiberman's voting record was pretty liberal.

His lackluster debate with Cheney, his failure to back Gore during the "recount" & his later behavior showed his other side.

[greenbriar]

14. wanted the jewish voters!!

.

[unblock]

15. right, we 1% of the voting population usually swing elections

what with our highly predicable 90+% democratic voting pattern...

:rofl:

[blitzen]

16. wanted to win Florida....which did in fact happen, sort of n/t

[Spinoza]

17. I liked and supported Lieberman

in 2000. By my standards his record on the issues was virtually impeccable. On every major democratic plank he had a great record. With the exception of criticizing Clinton for the 'Monica' affair, what was wrong with Lieberman's record? True, he was a moderate, never 'hardcore', but neither was Gore at that stage. We now know that Gore also was (privately) critical of Clinton's actions vis-a-vis Monica. Lieberman seemed to be a democrat in the mold of Robert Kennedy whom I had greatly admired. (And still do.)

[557188]

18. No one listen to me in 2000

I was already weary of Gore due to being married to Censorship Tipper. Having Uncle Joe as VP is what drove me to vote for Nader.

I still don't trust or like Gore due to Tipper and Lieberman.

The whole idea of votes being in the center is such an absurd outdated notion. Lieberman lost more votes for Gore than gained votes.

[Bridget Burke]

27. So--in 2000 you voted for Nader.

Thanks a bunch.

So--Mommy & Daddy wouldn't buy you the music you wanted. Wah Wah!

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. He wanted to appeal to conservatives.

He was worried he was too liberal.

[Clarkie1]

21. Lieberman is a good Democrat. Always has been.

Check it out for yourself...

http://www.vote-smart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=S0141103

[MiniMe]

23. And now Al isn't endorsing him for Senator

I think that Joementum has changed a lot in the last 6 years. He has now sold his soul.

[Fleshdancer]

24. For what it's worth.....

I get the distinct impression that Gore regrets many of his 2000 campaign decisions more than anyone. As for choosing Lieberman, I assumed it was to seperate Gore from the Clinton scandal.

[ComerPerro]

26. Lieberman is a tool and a follower. He would have been a good VP