Could Gore have picked a better running mate?

[elperromagico]

I was reading a post about Mondale's choice of Ferraro in '84, and it got me wondering: Would Gore have been better off in 2000 if he had picked someone other than Joe Lieberman?

[Parche]

1. yes yes yes

Anyone but whinerman

Kerry would have been a landslide
even gephart, graham, anyone but whinerman

[elperromagico]

13. Agreed

It seemed to me that picking Lieberman, a senator from a small state which votes Democratic anyway, was a mistake.

And this may seem trivial, but it bothered me that Lieberman didn't drop out of the Senate race in CT... it implied to me that he didn't have that much faith in Gore's chances.

[tjdee]

2. YES. In fact, it was down to Edwards and Lieberman.

It was Kerry, Edwards, and Lieberman.

Then it was down to Lieberman and Edwards. I've seen an interview with Lieberman where he was all but sure it had gone to Edwards (mentioned him specifically). But Edwards didn't have the experience/gravitas.

SIGH. BIG SIGH, Al. Geez.

[Skittles]

3. HELL F***ING YES

Lieberman SUCKED and don't anyone tell me that's a KNEE-JERK REACTION.

[Catch22Dem]

4. Ya think?

Without a doubt. He could have done much better with Kerry or Bradley.

[goobergunch]

5. Sen. Bob Graham (D-FL).

Florida would have been won beyond a doubt.

[Catch22Dem]

7. very very good point

[TakebackAmerica]

11. NO!

Lieberman help him with Jews in Florida. We won't be close in florida this time beacuse some Jews like W's Isreal stance.

[goobergunch]

16. This is about 2000

Not about 2004.

[_Jumper_]

17. Did Jews vote significantly more Democratic?

It is already a solidly Democratic bloc, second among ethnic groups to blacks. Why try to attract a group that is already in your corner?

Conversely, Lieberman cost Gore some Muslim votes in Florida. The gain among Jews was likely more than offset by a loss among Muslims.

[quaker bill]

20. Could be

But I doubt it. I will concur that it probably hurt with muslims, but they don't compare well numerically with the Jewish vote in south Fla.

Where it probably really takes a toll is in the redneck riviera, "Southern Georgia", and "Alabama South". Places north of Orlando, excepting Gainesville and Tallahassee. WE still have KKK chapters up there.

[quaker bill]

18. Wrong.

While getting a strong turnout in Palm Beach and Broward is important. The notion of having a Jewish person on the ticket probably is neutral or does harm nearly every where else in the state. My guess is that at best, it is a wash.

[Cha]

6. Shit, yeah!

[vi5]

8. Yes...it was seen as pandering to the right....

And distancing himself from Clinton at the very time he needed to be embracing Clinton and everything he accomplished. He should have picked Kerry or Graham.

[LalahLand]

9. Yes, thats why he lost

Lieberman cost him the election.

[mlawson]

10. I don't know if it would have mattered

I do like to *think* that he would have won outright, had he picked John Edwards, but we will never know that now.

But does it matter THAT much who the VP is, so long as there are no scandals manufactured about them? Did cheney's presence on bush's ticket make any difference? Could he have swung any votes to bush?? I doubt it.

[Champion Jack]

12. To put it simply

YES!

[formactv]

15. Talent on loan...

Thanks for the picture!

[quaker bill]

14. No doubt

Whether it would have helped? Who knows? Bob Graham probably would have helped with Fla. But he might have hurt elsewhere...

[birdman]

19. Could he have picked a worse one ?

Hoy Joe's one function was to deflect criticism of Clintons
blow jobs. He didn't even do a very good job on that.

[shance]

21. Gore could have picked Jesus Christ and there would still be threads like

this that want to blame Gore for the fact that HE WON.

Why is such a huge factor like that disregarded?

HE won..... and yet I have to laugh because apparently many Democrats want to believe the Chris Matthews, Bill O Reillys and spin from Republicans before they will believe the truth.

That amazes me.

I realize your intent is probably good, but it may be beneficial to look at how Gore might feel who had essentially no support coming from us Democrats to give him the support needed to fight and claim his position as president.

And where the heck were all of us? Where were the Democratic legislators to show more support? If they were there, I unfortunately didnt see them.

The Republicans had buses driven to the Vice president's house (while Gore was still there) with people that shouted at the Gores all day and I think all night to get out of THEIR house! One of the Gore Daughters finally put a speaker of music out the window.

And where was the media? Where was the Media when it came to what was really going on?

And why didnt our Democratic leaders get us on buses to counter such outrageous behavior. I guarantee we would have been in D.C. in droves. Essentially Al Gore was alone. God knows, Joe Lieberman sure wasnt any help then, which is absolutely unbelievable. Just like Bill Clinton was essentially alone - if the DNC doesnt do anything to mobilize us Dems then our leaders stand alone and they cant do it all on their own.

I wonder how any of us might feel if we were being interrogated and intimidated like that?

I also wonder how Gore feels about the whole thing. He won even WITH Lieberman, who, yes i would think would be a liability, especially now, when so much more is known about his conservative stance.

I think the question should be more like,

Could Al Gore be sitting in the White House today if the DNC, Democratic legislators and leadership and ALL of us stood behind him, ignored the Chris Matthews media spin and defended the truth and what is right. I think he would.

[jsw_81]

22. Absolutely

John Kerry would have delivered New Hampshire, Bob Graham would have given us a clear victory in Florida, John Edwards would have given us a few southern states etc.

But Joe Lieberman was an absolute disaster. Choosing him was the biggest mistake Al Gore ever made.