Joseph I. Lieberman
(Project Vote Smart)
Qualifications: Joe Lieberman went to Yale undergraduate and law, then went into the Connecticut Senate. He was Majority Leader of the State Senate there for a while, then ran for Congress and lost. He picked himself up, ran for Attorney General, and then went into the US Senate in 1988. He’s in his third term now. He sits on the Armed Services Committee, the Small Business Committee, and the Environment and Public Works Committee, and is ranking Democrat on the Governmental Affairs Committee.
Strengths: Sen. Lieberman has a certain dignity; he speaks from conviction. He also is a centrist, and has the ability to work with people from either party. Perhaps connected with those is his independence from a good deal of the usual Party mindset and backscratching. He is not hesitant to criticize people on his own side, when he feels critical, nor will he mince words in his disagreement.
Weaknesses: In his first two terms in the Senate, Joe Lieberman didn’t make much of a mark. His centrist positions meant that he failed to carve out for himself a particular area of either expertise or clout. Also, his independence is a lot like disloyalty; there aren’t many people who would stick a neck out for him. Finally, he comes off as self-righteous and sanctimonious. I mean, his television persona is not particularly endearing.
Priorities: As far as I can tell, Sen. Lieberman has put the most energy and effort of his political life into combating certain cultural trends he finds deplorable. I assume that would continue to be a priority as President. His other main priority appears to have been what is now called homeland security; as far back as 1996, he was pressing for wider powers for law enforcement and intelligence units. After that, he appears to be keen on what he calls “fiscally responsible, pro-growth management of the economy.” This means, among other things, an economic policy focused on job creation, targeted tax cuts, and a balanced budget. On the international front, Lieberman has supported interventionist policies, and has shown willingness to use either diplomacy or force to get results.
Coalitions : Sen. Lieberman has shown a tremendous ability to work across party lines. He has close relationships with people in different camps, and is willing to work with whoever he agrees with on a particular issue, without requiring full agreement on all issues.
Legislative: As President, I expect Joe Lieberman would have a good relationship with the House and Senate. He will work with both parties, and knows enough about legislation to work well, without being too involved in the details. I suspect that he would have an easy time with confirmations, and would (if only by virtue of being a centrist) be able to get a majority coalition for a lot of his policies.
Executive: Sen. Lieberman has limited executive experience; he was a highly successful Attorney General in Connecticut, but has held no other Executive office. I know very little about his working style. He would likely gather around him people with whom he felt personally comfortable, whether he agreed with them or not. Any litmus test would be about character, not policy.
Judicial: Joe Lieberman was one of those State Attorneys General who is known for “fighting for the little guy.” Be that as it may, he has some knowledge of the workings of the judiciary. He’s unlikely to appoint justices too terribly out of the mainstream one way or another. I suspect that he would like to appoint a Justice with a broader experience than the bench, but Clinton also wanted that, and it didn’t happen. In addition, I suspect that Sen. Lieberman would be inclined to get involved in Judicial Branch stuff more than most presidents do, but that’s just my suspicion.
Crisis: In general, as no office is like the Presidency, and every crisis a President must handle is unique, it’s always tough to get a sense of this aspect of a candidate’s character. It’s worse for someone as unpredictable as Sen. Lieberman. What I am willing to say is that Sen. Lieberman is unafraid to call a spade a spade. He can be confrontational and aggravate a crisis caused by misunderstanding or conflict. On the other hand, if we were to find ourselves in a crisis of confidence, as opposed to a conflict or a crisis of resources, his conviction would be quite helpful.
Day-to-day: If Sen. Lieberman were to manage to get together a Cabinet he felt he could trust, he would probably leave a lot of the details to them. I suspect that he would spend a good deal of time on TV, and otherwise using the bully pulpit. I also think he would likely give a lot of influence and resources to intelligence-gathering sources, and the Department of Justice.
Leadership: Sen. Lieberman has a reputation of righteousness and bravery. He displayed a kind of leadership when he was one of the first Democrats to condemn Bill Clinton’s philandering. He has consistently spoken out on cultural issues; he has had a substantial influence on how those issues are dealt with by Washington. I don’t think he has swayed a lot of people to his viewpoint, but he has been willing to take heat for what he believes. Also, it should be pointed out that simply by being the first (openly) non-Christian president, he would have an effect on the country. Like Carol Moseley Braun and Al Sharpton, it would be wrong to ignore the identity aspect of leadership, but also wrong to put too much on it.