By John Wagner
Lieberman's well-known, not well-funded
By John Wagner -- Bee Washington correspondent
Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Monday, May 12, 2003
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- On the night before the Democrats' first presidential debate in South Carolina, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut was parked near the vegetable tray in a VIP tent, sharing handshakes and broad smiles with local officials and other party activists.
Among those who dropped by to have his picture snapped with the Democrats' 2000 vice presidential nominee was Glenn Reese, a state senator. Lieberman graciously complied but must have been taken aback by the blue sticker on Reese's lapel: It advertised his support for Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina, a rival for the 2004 presidential nomination.
"Lieberman is a great statesman," Reese later explained, "but I think people in general want a little more charisma to vote for."
Moreover, Reese said, Edwards asked for his support long before it was clear Lieberman was going to run.
The episode underscored the unexpected place Lieberman finds himself in as the contest for the Democratic presidential nomination starts to shift into higher gear. By far the best-known of the nine Democrats running, he has struggled to distinguish himself from the pack.
Lieberman's first-quarter fund-raising total was less than half that of Edwards and Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts. And the latest poll out of New Hampshire, the nation's first primary state, shows Lieberman running third behind two fellow New Englanders, Kerry and former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean.
Lieberman's supporters attribute his slow start largely to the pledge he made to Al Gore to stay out of the race if Gore sought a rematch with George W. Bush. As Lieberman waited for Gore's decision last year, his 2004 rivals were busy lining up backers.
Moreover, Lieberman boosters argue, his candidacy is the kind that will wear better with time.
"Joe doesn't generate excitement; Joe generates trust," said Martin Gross, a former mayor of Concord, N.H., who is among Lieberman's supporters in the Granite State. "In this age of media campaigns, maybe you've got to be a slick article. But I hope not."
With a hawkish record on defense -- he unapologetically backed the war on Iraq -- and a history of taking on Hollywood over sex and violence, Lieberman argues on the campaign trail that he is uniquely positioned to win back the White House.
"I am the one Democrat who can match George Bush in the areas where many think he's strong, defense and moral values, and beat him where he is weak, on the economy and his divisive right-wing social agenda," Lieberman said in his closing statement during the South Carolina debate.
Though the late-night debate was seen by few voters, Lieberman drew positive reviews from the political establishment.
A former Connecticut attorney general now in his third term in the Senate, Lieberman has also a launched a series of policy speeches designed to flesh out his 2004 campaign agenda. His first address, last week in Washington, was devoted to the importance of energy independence.
In an interview, Lieberman said that "every campaign is about the future."
Though to a large degree, Lieberman's bid is also about the past.
In front of Democratic audiences, his largest applause line has to do with the 2000 election. As he put it in a recent forum hosted by the Children's Defense Fund: "I know I can beat George Bush. Why? Al Gore and I already did it."
The disputed election was front and center the morning after the South Carolina debate, when Lieberman appeared at a predominantly African American church in Charleston.
In his introduction, the Rev. Joseph Darby told his congregation that, if not for the intervention of the U.S. Supreme Court, "I would be presenting Vice President Lieberman."
In his remarks, Lieberman called for removing the Confederate flag from the state Capitol grounds in Columbia, criticized President Bush for opposing the University of Michigan's affirmative action program, and urged those listening politely in the pews in front of him to take part in the state's early 2004 presidential primary.
"The glory of it is more than half those votes are going to be cast by African Americans," Lieberman said.
After he finished, Lieberman stayed for the remainder of the nearly three-hour service, nodding attentively during Darby's fiery sermon and clapping along as the choir belted out "Oh, How I Love Jesus" and other rollicking numbers.
Lieberman, an Orthodox Jew, has been spending a good deal of time in African American churches in South Carolina, in part because African American voters there are expected to play such a large role in the state's Democratic primary. It is scheduled to take place just a week after the traditional early nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Lieberman's own faith is a large part of who he is and of his candidacy. When Gore picked him as his running mate in 2000, the choice stirred debate about whether the country was ready for a Jewish president. The question remains part of the background noise surrounding Lieberman's current bid, though he downplays its significance.
"I'm running as an American who happens to be Jewish," he said, adding: "I believe in my heart that I'm going to win this nomination. But if I don't, I'm comfortable that the reason won't be my religion."
Regardless of how accepting the public may be, Lieberman's faith poses logistical hurdles the other candidates don't face.
On the Friday before the South Carolina debate, he was whisked away from the VIP reception in a black Ford Excursion at 6:58 p.m. and -- in keeping with his strict observance of the Sabbath -- he did not appear again in public until just minutes before the 9 p.m. start of the Saturday debate.
In between, other hopefuls shook hands at a fish fry hosted by an influential congressman later Friday night, courted activists one on one in "Meet the Candidate" booths Saturday morning, and delivered speeches to 2,000 delegates attending the state party convention Saturday afternoon.
URL:http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/6652486p-7604401c.html |
