Thursday,July 06, 2000
By Terry Corcoran
Waterbury Republican-American
STAMFORD — As Sen. Joseph Lieberman stood in the hot noon sun Wednesday to announce he would seek a third term in the U.S. Senate, he couldn't escape the shadow of rumors that he's being considered a running mate by Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore.
"You know I keep trying to squelch this rumor," Lieberman said, standing in his mother's front yard just inches away from 85-year-old Marcia Lieberman. "But I can't control my mother."
Lieberman said he doesn't expect to be chosen as Gore's running mate "and I don't seek it."
But if, by some chance, Gore taps Lieberman, the two-term Democrat from New Haven admitted "I'd certainly think about it."
Then in the next breath, Lieberman dismissed any talk of becoming his party's vice presidential candidate, saying "to me it's a non-event" and that it's a personal decision Gore must make.
"This is one of those rare cases that I really don't want to say any more," Lieberman said.
So, instead, he talked of his reasons for seeking another six years in the Senate. Lieberman chose the small yard of his boyhood home on Strawberry Hill Court in Stamford because, he said, it was in the modest, white stucco cape that he learned the values that helped define him, inspire his work in public service and sustain his belief that he chose the right profession. These values include the importance of loyalty to faith, family and country.
"Throughout my 12 years now in the United States Senate, I have tried to give voice to these values, which are in fact the foundation values of most families in this state and country. I have tried to abide by them in my conduct, but more importantly, I have tried to realize them in my work, to achieve our shared vision of a better Connecticut," said Lieberman, who served 10 years in the state Senate and six years as the state's attorney general.
Lieberman, 57, has long been considered a voice of morality in the Senate. He was instrumental in passing legislation to equip new televisions with the so-called V-chip that allows parents to block out shows with objectionable content. And when President Clinton admitted to a sexual encounter in the Oval Office with a White House intern, Lieberman made headlines for criticizing, on the Senate floor, the president's behavior.
But when asked whether he said one thing on the Senate floor, then did another in voting against Clinton's impeachment, Lieberman defended his vote, saying the president's actions, while morally wrong, were not worthy of impeachment. Lieberman also noted that a majority of the American people did not consider Clinton's actions impeachable offenses.
Lieberman, a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School who first gained celebrity in 1966 for his biography of former state Democratic party boss John M. Bailey, touted his work in favor of balancing the federal budget, which, he said, has helped sustain "this unprecedented run of economic growth."
He stressed his work on behalf of the environment, promoting family values, supporting anti-crime initiatives and helping the state's defense industry, which employs tens of thousands in Connecticut. But if there were only one issue he could work on if elected to another term, Lieberman said that it would be to improve education.
Lieberman's Republican challenger will likely be Waterbury Mayor Philip A. Giordano. Recent polls show Lieberman with a commanding lead over Giordano. Most pundits expect the November race will be a cakewalk for Lieberman.
But while Lieberman didn't even name his challenger Wednesday, he vowed to run on his record, to respond to any negative attacks and to continue his tradition of stopping by diners and local coffee shops to talk with constituents and hear their opinions.
Lieberman is scheduled to be nominated at a convention on July 14 at Southern Connecticut State University.
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