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January 31, 2003/Shevat 28 5763, Vol. 55, No. 23
Presidential hopeful Lieberman makes early stop in Arizona
BARRY COHEN
Editor
In preparation for Arizona's presidential primary, Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn) used his recent trip to the Valley to introduce himself to the people of Arizona.
This trip is "the beginning of a conversation with the people of Arizona about who I am," said Lieberman. He wants to share his "background, values, ideas, programs and his hopes and dreams for the country."
His Jan. 27 visit was also a chance to listen to Arizonans, "to hopefully become a better candidate and a better leader," he said.
Lieberman met with Native Americans, firefighters, Gov. Janet Napolitano, state legislators and Maricopa County Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. He also spent time with members of the Jewish community in a private home.
Arizona is one of the first four states to hold primaries. The Arizona primary, scheduled for Feb. 3, 2004, is the first of the Western states and will be held the same day as the South Carolina primary. Only Iowa and New Hampshire are earlier.
"(Arizona) will be the first of those four states where none of the candidates live next door," said Lieberman.
Lieberman expressed a message in Arizona that he will carry to other state primaries: that President George W. Bush promised the people a better America, and "that promise has not been kept."
The promise included bipartisan cooperation in Washington and an improved economy, he said.
"The president said he would change the tone in Washington," said Lieber-man, "(but) the place is more partisan and polarized than it has been for a long time."
Also, Bush's economic policies have been a failure, he noted.
"His tax plan made it impossible for us to invest in some of the things we need to invest in - security, health care, education," said Lieberman.
Bush is repeating the same mistakes President Ronald Reagan made in the 1980s with deficit spending, he added.
In the 1990s, the Democratic Party became a pro-economic growth, fiscally responsible party, Lieberman said. "One of my top priorities is to ... bring us back to the prosperity of the '90s."
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