WP: No Warning You're About to Be Gored

[kskiska]

Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean yesterday, which was bad enough for Joe Lieberman, Gore's running mate in 2000, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for president. But couldn't Gore at least have told Lieberman himself? He heard the news from a staffer, who heard it from a reporter.

Was Lieberman angry?

No, he said, just surprised. Asked to characterize his brief, after-the-fact phone call with Gore yesterday morning, Lieberman said simply, "It lasted 15 minutes. It was too late."

In other words, he wanted a heads-up. Everyone wants a heads-up, even if it's about unpleasant news. The lack of a heads-up can be a belligerent maneuver. Et tu, Brute! But in most cases, failing to give a heads-up is a passive-aggressive power play, a slight of omission. It is as much clumsy or rude as it is hostile."The essence of the heads-up in politics is respect," said William Mayer, a professor of political science at Northeastern University in Boston. As an example, Mayer cited Michael Dukakis's failure to give Jesse Jackson -- the runner-up for the 1988 Democratic nomination -- a heads-up that he was picking Lloyd Bentsen as his running mate. "The heads-up is the political equivalent of giving props," said Mayer.

Or, in an opposing view, the lack of a heads-up is much ado about nothing. "This is big league politics, it isn't a game," said former congressman Tony Coelho, the general chair of the Gore 2000 campaign. Coelho said that if Gore had given Lieberman or any of the other candidates a heads-up about his endorsement of Dean, the news would have leaked instantly to the media. "I find it fascinating that people in this town feel sorry for Joe Lieberman," Coelho said. "I say, 'Grow up.' If Gore didn't pick Lieberman to be his running mate, Lieberman wouldn't be running for president now to begin with."

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51035-2003Dec9.html

[Bucky]

1. Gore's wrong, Lieberman's right.

This was handled quite badly. Lieberman deserved better treatment. I don't care for his politics or his views much, but any Democrat deserves some basic courtesy.

But more importantly, this is politically stupid on Gore's part. Going out of his way to diss Lieberman weakens us all on our right flank. In what is already going to be an uphill battle, why should Gore go out of his way to alienate potential allies for after the nomination.

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. I have mixed emotions about this

Frankly, Gore ran as the opposition party. Lieberman has hardly filled the shoes of the opposition party. On the one hand, a professional courtesy may have been nice...on the other hand, Gore owes Lieberman nothing.

[David Zephyr]

15. I Agree.

Anyway this Gore endorsement thing has been around for weeks now.

Gore owes nothing to Lieberman.

[kysrsoze]

17. Come on, really.....

Holy Joe is an @sshole who will trash anyone to get ahead. Look at what he did to Clinton, rolling over on him on such a bullsh*t charge of sex. My God. What about Kennedy? After the election, Holy Joe had a few choice words for Gore which he publicly expressed. Do you think he ever apologized to Gore for that?

He's too busy running for President to be civil to anyone. He has publicly bashed Dean even though he is the frontrunner. Can't he think of a better strategy to beat the guy most liked at the time? Is that really a winning Democratic strategy? When is the last time that fuck said anything bad about Bush?

He got exactly what he deserved. I say, "Fuck him." And Al probably said the same thing.

[sendero]

25. I don't get it...

.... I believe it is absolutely true that had Gore notified Joe it would have been leaked to the press in minutes. Why blunt the effectiveness of a political gesture that way?

Again, people extend courtesies to others who they feel deserve it. Gore may have well asked himself "would Joe have told me"? and answered himself "no". Simple as that.

People who try to make an issue of this because Dean is not their first choice are fooling nobody.

[unblock]

4. lieberman's wrong, wrong, wrong

gore endorses dean.

lieberman says "the story's about ME, ME, ME!"

gimme a break. lieberman shouldn't pretend that a petty point about private politics (giving a private heads-up) is worthy of national attention, or has anything to do with why he's upset. (if it does, then he's REALLY petty.)

lieberman's upset, heads-up or no, the gore didn't pick HIM. focusing on the propriety is just a way for lieberman to whine without coming out and whining about not getting the endorsement itself.

[Name removed]

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[Name removed]

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[TankLV]

14. Seems "Holy Joe" is what Goforit said - in spades!

If it walks like a duck...
and quacks like a duck...

But do go on, you are quite amusing, and never fail to disappoint!

I guess the truth hurts.

But you seldom can take the truth, from what I've read of your posts.

But thankz for playing!

Buh bye!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

11. Lieberman got exactly what he deserved. He's a NeoCon in...

...Democratic Party clothing.

Additionally, the Chimpster is alienating Republicans at a rapid rate, pissing off true Republican conservatives as well as conservative Democrats in the South. Some of those Republicans have kids in Afghanistan and Iraq, and they're starting to get just as concerned about the conduct of the "war" as we are.

Those are the people that will be attracted to Dean, regardless of what Gore has allegedly done to "alienate" those people.

[Jim Sagle]

22. No, you're wrong, Gore's right, and Jagoff Joe is wrong.

And furthermore, nobody gives a fuck.

[Ramsey]

3. Who cares!

Lieberman only more deserves the moniker sore loserman the more he grouses about Gore not pre-informing him. What obligation does Gore have to Lieberman? It would have been immediately leaked.

We were hosting a party today at which Dean was to personally appear and I wasn't informed officially until 10 pm last night tat he was not available to appear. Liebrman isn't supporting Dean, why should he have advance notice?

[not systems]

5. Cry me a river...

Joe.

:nopity:

[kysrsoze]

18. That was really funny

I'm still laughing as I type.

[Cocoa]

6. that's not what "being Gored" means

Being Gored is what news outlets like the Post did to Gore during 2000 that helped the worthless Bush get close enough to steal the election.

[Gloria]

7. Trippi said during the spin post-debate that they tried to contact

Lieberman but they couldn't reach him.

I don't know if I buy this, because if they had spoken to a staffer I'm sure they would have been able to contact him somehow....

It must have taken quite a bit of time to coordinate visits to Harlem and Iowa. Surely, in the days before all this, Lieberman or his staff could have been notified.

[young_at_heart]

8. Gore goofed big-time when he chose Lieberman

I never could understand his motivation for choosing Lieberman.....a liability, not an asset. Maybe he came to realize that after the election, hence his choice of Dean now.

[AndyTiedye]

16. Gore Realized His Potentially Fatal Mistake Well Before The Election

Which is why he ran such an unenthusiastic campain,
and why he did not fight the theft of the election.
In retrospect, he looked more like someone who had just dodged a bullet
than someone who had just had a Presidential election stolen from him.

He realized that he would be JFK'ed if he took office.
Perhaps they even told him so.

Does anybody NOT think that the PNAC cabal would have done it?

Lieberman was Plan B.

[frank frankly]

20. first reasonable explanation for Gore in 2004 I have heard

very very possible

[kysrsoze]

19. Any guy who you know gets no sex can't be good for the country

Just look at him. Talk about a complete, wishy-washy pushover. Maybe he should try growing a spine at some point instead of being such a whiny little bitch.

Sorry, Joe - you asked for it.

[He loved Big Brother]

24. I believe Lieberman is also why he chose not to run again

Now I believe it even more. Pick Lieberman for VP again and seal his own defeat, or appear fickle by coosing someone else, appearing fickle to voters and sealing his own defeat? Id's sit this one out too.

[bemildred]

9. Tough shit.

The WP is just annoyed because Joe is their little princess
and the damn glass slipper won't fit.

[goforit]

12. LOL!!!!!!........"little princess".....well said!!!!

The media fails once again!!!

This is music to our ears!!!!

[Hillsey]

21. To hell with LIEberman

he is owed no courtesey.

[JNelson6563]

23. Screw Lieberman

I have it on good authority he has more than once done similar things to his Senate collegues. On one occassion he had told them he was with them on a vote. They found out he'd changed his view when they saw him on C-Span with the usurper in the Rose Garden.

What goes around comes around asshole.

Juloie

[imax2268]

26. Frankly...

I'm tired of hearing all the morning news soundbites about this...most of the reports I keep hearing are about how Dean had to eat shit at the debate...one segment showed a New York newspaper saying that Gore stabbed Lieberman in the back...please...Lieberman doesn't have a chance...(just my opinion)...

I think that Dean handled it well with his answer...

[GCP]

27. Sorry, but I have to disagree with the majority here

I think it would have been more classy for Gore to have told him immediately before the event.
Why would the Lieberman campaign have leaked something so damaging to themselves? To a lot of the people he now looks like the wronged wife in a dirty marital split, when the wife is the last to know what's been going on. Yes, I know that sounds like I'm equating Lieberman to the female role, and that's not an accident, he's a big wuss as far as I'm concerned, and Gore is better off away from him, but sympathy usually falls with the wronged party in a situation like this, and for better or for worse, Gore chose him as his running mate last time, and this makes it seem like:

a) his judgement was bad last time (which it was)
or
b) he's a back-stabber to someone who held off his own declaration until Gore announced he wouldn't be running.

I know Gore theoretically didn't have any obligation to tell Lieberman first, but it would have been the classy thing to do.

Flame away.

[DrBB]

29. I agree. I don't think it would have cost him anything

The idea is to give the other guy time to prepare a response. The damage is when he has to sit in a live interview and say "No, he never told me," which is a humiliating admission that a major public figure didn't think of you as important enough to talk to. As opposed to being able to say "Yes, he called, we discussed it, I think he's wrong but we're still friends and colleagues fighting the good fight, etc." That keeps us all stronger.

I have NO liking for Lieberman. I have NO objection to Gore endorsing Dean. But Lieberman has his supporters, and whoever wins the nomination is going to need every last vote he can come up with. Or have we forgotten this is ultimately about the presidency, not the Democratic nomination?

Doing it in such a shoddy way lowers Gore considerably in my esteem. There are REASONS for doing it right. Doing it in this way reflects poorly on the whole Democratic party: "These are the kind of people they are; they don't even respect their own!"

Not a great message to send to the wider public when we're facing a daunting presidential fight of overwhelming importance.

I think he blew it.

[KaraokeKarlton]

28. According to Joe Trippi

Gore intended to make calls to all the candidates to tell them himself he was endorsing Dean but the press broke the story before he could do it. He was in Tokyo when he called Dean and told him he wanted to endorse him as soon as possible. Trippi also said that Gore had attempted to reach Lieberman but was unable to before the story hit the news.

[GCP]

30. In that case, whoever leaked the story to the press

deserves to be fired immediately. As DrBB put it so well in his post, this makes us all look bad or at best, incompetent.