7 August 2000

With Al Gore's selection of a running mate today, we officially have a presidential race.  The Lieberman pick is one I did not expect.  I figured Al Gore would pick the safe John Kerry, who would shore up Gore's weak Democratic base (in the latest poll he is getting 77% of Dems, compared to Bush drawing 92% of Republicans) while still drawing credit as a moderate (and how many Massachussetts Democrats are moderates?  If we mean by moderate that he hasn't gotten drunk and caused any women to drown a la Ted Kennedy, then I guess he is a moderate).  I thought Bob Kerrey of Nebraska might emerge as a surprise pick, and he worried me because he would have added more than Lieberman (war hero, occasional critic of the Clinton administration, true moderate on many issues).  

So what does Lieberman add?  1) He helps deflect the Republican attempt to tie Gore to Clinton morally, but not totally (he helps Gore not at all with his own moral shortcomings, including the Buddhist temple and "no controlling legal authority" comment); 2) he offers Gore one last chance at remaking himself (something he does constantly, but that he realistically has one more chance to do -- and in picking Lieberman he remakes himself as someone willing to distance himself from the President).  3) he is portrayed as a moderate.

How does Lieberman hurt?  1) He actually agrees with the Republicans on a fair number of issues (primarily school vouchers, which does nothing to solidify Gore's base, and partial privatization of social security); 2) his orthodoxy will be an issue, and it won't be anti-Semitism that causes people to ask if he will be Jewish or if he will be the American President if there is a crisis during the Sabbath, 3) despite the spin the Democrats will use, his agreement with Republicans on certain issues doesn't square well with Gore's views (to the extent we know those), which is a problem.

Overall, I think Dick Gephardt or Bob Kerrey would have given the folks in Austin more to worry about.  Paul Gigot's praise to the contrary, I don't think Lieberman was a particularly inspired choice.