Syndication
John McCain
The John and Joe Show: Lieberman Campaigns for McCain, But Says He’s Not Interested in No. 2 Spot
John McCain and Joe Lieberman have been keeping close company since the Connecticut senator crossed the aisle to endorse his Republican Senate colleague’s presidential bid. Lieberman has been campaigning for McCain in New Hampshire, and today the bipartisan pair have a co-bylined opinion article in The Wall Street Journal arguing that the U.S. military surge in Iraq has worked and praising the leadership of General David Petraeus.
Despite some speculation about a possible McCain-Lieberman ticket, the 2000 Democratic vice-presidential nominee told Reuters he wasn’t interested in being McCain’s running mate. “”Oh yeah. I got that bug out of my system,” he said.
Joe for John: Lieberman Endorses McCain
Joseph Lieberman has crossed the aisle to endorse the presidential candidacy of his good friend — and fellow Senate Iraq war hawk — John McCain.
The two have plenty in common — including a willingness to buck their parties on occasion: Lieberman on Iraq, and other issues; McCain on global warming, campaign finance reform and more. In his endorsement speech in New Hampshire, Lieberman stressed the importance of putting the national interest ahead of party politics
One question is whether an endorsement from the self-proclaimed “independent Democrat” will help or hurt McCain with his party’s faithful. The Associated Press’s Jennifer Loven writes, “the endorsement carries the risk of alienating conservatives who have been critical of his support for immigration and campaign finance reforms.”
In New Hampshire though, as the AP notes, independents are allowed to vote in the party primaries. Lieberman and the emphasis on bridging the partisan divide could help McCain with this key constituency. (And, in any case, it would be hard for McCain’s GOP opponents to nail him over an endorsement from a Democrat who is well regarded by many Republicans.)
The decision, however, of the Democrats’ 2000 vice-presidential nominee to endorse a Republican — while hardly surprising — is certainly striking (as, of course, was Democratic primary voters’ rebuke of Lieberman in his Senate reelection bid). Democrats, it goes without saying, are not pleased with Lieberman’s latest move — even dyed-in-the-wool centrists “I am very saddened by Senator Lieberman’s choice and profoundly disagree with it,” said Al From, founder and CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council. “We need to elect a Democratic president in 2008.”
But, it seems, Lieberman’s endorsement may have been of more use to McCain than it would have been to any of the Democratic hopefuls, who are currently competing over who has the strongest anti-Bush bona fides. The AP reports:
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, Democrat Al Gore’s running mate in 2000, said he had intended to wait until after the primaries to make a choice for the 2008 presidential race. But McCain asked for his support and no Democrat did.
Emphasis added.
UPDATE: Lieberman detractors are pointing to this remark, made by the Connecticut senator during a debate with his 2006 Senate race opponent Ned Lamont:
McCain Slammed for Saying U.S. a “Christian Nation”
Republican presidential candidate John McCain is under fire from Jewish groups after saying the U.S. is a “Christian Nation.”
In a video interview with beliefnet.com the Arizona senator said America was founded “on Christian principles” and that it is in fact a “Christian nation.” McCain, however, did add that he meant that “in the broadest sense” and that all are welcome to America.
Abe Foxman of the ADL already sent a letter urging the senator to withdraw his comment. The AJC expressed dismay and the Jewish Democrats at the NJDC called on GOP leaders to denounce McCain.
Who’s Up, Who’s Down: Foreign Policy on the Campaign Trail
Everywhere we turned this week, presidential contenders were working to score public relations points with posturing on foreign policy.
Here’s the quick summary, along with some verdicts about whether they came out ahead or behind in the image game:
Barack Obama was branded as “irresponsible” by Pakistan’s foreign minister after saying that, as president, he might unilaterally decide to send troops to combat terrorism there. A week ago, the Illinois senator was fighting off bad foreign policy PR after announcing, at the CNN/You Tube debate, that he would commit to diplomatic meetings with the leaders of Iran and other rogue states. Which is it – too hard or too soft? Verdict: DOWN.
Mitt Romney cites Hezbollah as a model for “health diplomacy.” Point well taken, but still. Verdict: DOWN.
The GOP contenders – minus Iraq stalwart John McCain – begin to distance themselves from Bush on the war. Will they open themselves up to flip-flopping charges down the road? Clearly, they’re willing to risk it. Verdict: UP.
John Edwards gets out from under Clinton-Obama by talking tough against the Saudi arms deal. Verdict: UP.
At Least McCain Will Always Have the RJC
Floundering presidential contender John McCain is scheduled to speak at a breakfast of the Republican Jewish Coalition in New York a week from Friday.
Apparently, a $1,000 donation to the RJC buys a picture with the much-fallen front-runner…
As one Republican operative has snarkily observed to me: “Why would he waste his time raising $$$ for the RJC when he needs to raise money for himself?”
