Sept 2003: Notes on Joe Lieberman.
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Joe Lieberman: My rating is 1 Joe Lieberman coffee cup.
I saw Senator Lieberman on C-Span. His website is here:
Joe for President.
I am not a huge fan. I think he is a great Senator from Connecticut, and he
should stay that way. Because he has 0% chance of winning the primary or the election.
The first time I heard of Senator Lieberman is when he condemned Clinton for
the Lewinsky affair. I guess that made Lieberman a moral leader. So then
Gore picked him to be his Vice Presidential candidate.
A lot of people said Lieberman and Gore should have switched places. But not me.
To me, Lieberman lacks the amazing skill that Clinton had in communicating with people.
It's an indefinable, impossible talent that the great politicians have, to make you feel
like they are talking right to you. Lieberman doesn't have that at all.
And continuing to compare Lieberman with Clinton, I don't think that Lieberman is a
policy wonk. I heard Lieberman on C-Span, and the audience was asking him questions on
health care. I was surprised that, on pretty basic questions, he just didn't seem
to be able to answer them. Doesn't he read the newspapers? Someone asked him about the
patented AIDS drugs in Africa, and he seemed to have no familiarity with the issue.
As far as Lieberman's positions, I guess they are all right. Perhaps he is a little
too pro-Israeli for my taste. I think the President should be a little balanced. If the
U.S. supports Israel without question, then I think the peace process becomes
actually more difficult.
Lieberman is a nice enough guy. But, at least to my impression, he is not a great
legislator, nor is he a magnetic personality. George Bush would eat him for lunch.
I also have to add that I don't think Lieberman really tried that hard in
the 2000 recount process. I definitely hold that as a grudge against both Gore
and Lieberman. During the recount, it looked like Bush was doing nothing in Texas.
But actually, he was organizing all his weasels to steal the election.
What was Lieberman doing? Did he care?
After Bush ate him for lunch, I think that Lieberman would probably smile and shake hands with him.
"Great election race," Lieberman would say. "We lost, but it was a great fight. I'd like to
thank my supporters." That's not what I want. I want a Democrat who will fight to the
end, blood sweat and tears.