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January 3, 2003/Tevet 29 5763, Vol. 55, No. 19
Prove it to the people
BARRY COHEN
Editor
Sen. Joseph Lieberman is preparing to declare himself a candidate for president.
A cynic can ask what chances a Jewish American has of winning the nomination, let alone the presidency. After all, President George W. Bush is maintaining record-high approval ratings. In the midst of the war on terror, why would the public vote to replace him?
And the cynic can add that President Lieberman would - consciously or subconsciously - prevent the United States from being an even-handed broker for peace between Israel and its neighbors.
The cynic can further argue that Lieberman will not become president because the majority of the voting public does not know who he is.
"Outside the Beltway, Lieberman is not a household name. I would venture to say that 75 percent of the public could not tell you who Gore ran with in 2000," remarked Leonard Dinnerstein, University of Arizona history professor, in the Jerusalem Post, Dec. 20.
Lastly, a cynic can ask what guarantee exists for even Jewish voters to support him? Why should a devoted Jewish Republican cross the party line to vote for a Jewish Democrat?
To respond to the cynic, Lieberman must prove to the people that he is qualified to be president.
As a third-term senator, Lieberman would bring plenty of political experience to the presidential table. Equally important, he is a post-Clinton Democrat, well positioned to attract moderate swing voters to win the Democratic presidential nomination, and to woo the same voters that propelled Bush into office.
A strong national security advocate, he is the chairman of the Senate Armed Services committee and member of the subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities. He sponsored the Homeland Security Act and supported Bush's proposal to use force against Iraq.
He also backed policies that are pro-business and pro-self-sufficiency. To promote an information technology-based economy, he advocated government funding for scientific research and development. He worked to give states greater authority to target federal funding for education, including charter schools. And he added provisions to the Welfare Reform bill to reward states that help welfare recipients become independent with self-supporting jobs.
In addition, Lieberman can attract the swing vote by emphasizing his identity as an observant Jew.
"Part of our problems as Democrats is we've allowed the Republicans to capture the values debate, because we're nervous about talking about faith as a source of values," said Lieberman in The New York Times, Dec. 24.
But to become a viable presidential candidate, he will have to do more than talk about how he has utilized his religious values. He will have to sell his political ideas.
The alternative is merely becoming the answer to the trivia question: "Who was the first Jew to run for president?" rather than "Who was the first Jew to become president?"
Contact the writer at barry_cohen@jewishaz.com.
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