Lieberman gets nod as Gore’s No. 2

Monday, Aug. 7, 2000 | 11:11 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

WASHINGTON -- Al Gore selected Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate today, rounding out the Democratic ticket with the first Jewish vice presidential candidate in American history.

Gore offered him a spot on the ticket in a telephone call at midday, and Lieberman accepted, having known for hours that the job was his.

"That was the call. It was directly from Al Gore," Lieberman said, pulling up to his house in Hartford, Conn., with a cell phone to his ear. "We said a short prayer together," the senator said.

He was all smiles. Hours earlier, Gore aides had informally given him the good news. "Miracles happen," Lieberman said, his voice wavering with emotion.

Picking the moderate Democrat and self-styled moral crusader as his running mate signals an effort by Gore to win over independent and Republican voters and distance himself from President Clinton's controversies. Lieberman was the first prominent Democratic lawmaker to openly criticize the president's conduct with Monica Lewinsky. Polls show Republican George W. Bush benefiting from the so-called "Clinton fatigue."

Gore made his decision in Tennessee after discussions late Sunday night and early this morning with top advisers, including former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who headed the search process, brother-in-law Frank Hunger, wife Tipper and campaign chairman Bill Daley, according to sources familiar with the events.

The vice president and his running mate will appear together at a noontime rally Tuesday in Nashville.

Sen. Richard Bryan, D-Nev., said Lieberman was his favorite contender on Gore's short list. The two have known each other since they entered the Senate together in 1988 and remained close. Lieberman was one of only a few people Bryan told of his plans to retire from the Senate, partly seeking his advice as a practical matter because the two shared a campaign space.

"I just have great confidence in him," Bryan said.

Bryan and Lieberman meet about once a week as members of the 14-senator New Democrat Coalition, a group that tries to push Democrats to the center on issues.

"He is a centrist, a consensus builder and he has a broad range of experiences in the Senate," Bryan said.

Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., also approved, saying, "He's just a nice person; there's no other way to say it."

"No one is going to be better on the issues; he's very strong intellectually," Reid added.

Reid also relayed a theme that Democrats are likely to stress as they seek to distance Gore from the scandals his boss brought to the White House: "(Lieberman) brings to the ticket someone who broke away from the pack and spoke out about President Clinton."

Lieberman, 58, beat out five other finalists: Sens. Evan Bayh of Indiana, John Edwards of North Carolina, John Kerry of Massachusetts; House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt of Missouri and New Hampshire Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

After calling Lieberman, Gore began calling the others on the list.

Shaheen praised the selection as "an excellent choice." She said, "He's a man of strong character and principle, and he really understands the economy we're in."

"It is a special honor to be asked to run for vice president with a man I deeply believe in, Al Gore, and who I think is ready to be a great president," Lieberman said.

The Gore campaign hoped Lieberman's selection would be a bold stroke heading into next week's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. He trails rival Bush in polls after last week's GOP convention.

One Democratic ally said Gore was driven in part by a need to make a pre-convention splash, which Lieberman's religion provides. That Democrat said the vice president has been disturbed by polls giving Bush a double-digit edge and fears the election will slip away unless he uses this critical two-week period to gain significant ground, particularly among independents and women.

A Democratic centrist, Lieberman would amplify Gore support of fiscal discipline and middle class tax cuts, Democrats said. The Gore campaign plans to draw a contrast to the GOP ticket's ties the oil industry and other special interests.

Lieberman said he was sure his record would be combed for issues on which the two had disagreed, but he added, "Al Gore and I have pretty much walked the same path, and where we've had disagreements they've been good-faith disagreements, never disagreements that touch our values."

Those disagreements include school vouchers and Social Security privatization.

George W. Bush's spokesman, Ari Fleischer, said, "Al Gore has chosen a man whose positions are more similar to Governor Bush's than to his own. ... The fact that Al Gore is willing to select a running mate whose positions he has attacked throughout this campaign will cause many to question Al Gore's commitment to the positions he takes."

Clinton, on vacation on Martha's Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts, said Lieberman was a friend of 30 years and "one of the most outstanding figures in public life. ... He is a bold figure. He is always full of new ideas."

The sources said Gore made his decision after discussions late Sunday night and early Monday morning with top advisers, including former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, who headed the search process, brother-in-law Frank Hunger, wife Tipper and campaign chairman Bill Daley.