Lawrence O'Donnell and Richard Stengel
Bio-logy
By Richard Stengel
Posted Monday, Aug. 7, 2000, at 6:48 PM ETLawrence:
Yes, I think we can say about old Joe--as Mrs. Thatcher did of Gorbachev--that he has a nice smile, but iron teeth. (Dick Cheney has nice iron teeth.)
He'll do fine attacking George W. It's so much easier to attack from the moral high ground, which is the territory Lieberman has staked out for himself. He'll lob thoughtful moral water balloons on the Republican ticket.
The Jewish thing already seems to have subsided. In politics, as soon as you cross the Rubicon, everyone wonders what the big fuss was about. When Mrs. Ferraro was nominated, people judged her to be incompetent--but not because she was a woman but because she was deeply unready.
In politics, it's not religious conviction that hurts you but the lack of it. In other words, there will be a Muslim on the national ticket long before there will be an atheist.
Reading the reams of material on Lieberman's Jewishness is already like wading into the Talmud: turgid and dense and not always very relevant. Yes, some folks will wonder whether Lieberman, if he becomes president, will be able to push the button on the Sabbath. But this is the equivalent of discussing angels dancing on the head of the pin. The short rabbinical answer is, Sure, just as long as he walks to the football and doesn't get a ride.
I thought it was interesting that Lieberman went with his bio this morning at the AFL-CIO meeting in Hartford. He talked about how neither of his parents went to college, how hard-working they were, etc. This tells Americans, I'm one of you. But it is also reflective of the Democrats' greater reliance on bio altogether.
Compare the Republicans. Neither George W. nor Cheney did any bio at the convention. It was understood. Here's the implicit equation.
-
Cheney's resume is his bio.
-
Bush's pedigree is his bio.
-
It would be odd for Cheney to talk about his parents because he seems too old to have them.
-
It would be odd for Bush to talk too much about his parents because we all know them.
The Democrats are busily trying to cobble together a plausible bio for Gore. It may be too late--that's what all the operatives say. But together, Joe and Al are kind of an appealing high-low odd couple. The Senator's son who went to St. Alban's; the immigrant's son who went to a down-at-the-heels public school.
I'm curious, Lawrence, from your time in the Senate, how did other Senators really see Lieberman?
And here's my final question: Shouldn't Hillary be the happiest shiksa in Chappaqua because of Gore's choice?
Bio-logy
By Richard Stengel
Posted Monday, Aug. 7, 2000, at 6:48 PM ETLawrence O'Donnell is a co-producer and writer on The West Wing and writes the "National Affairs" column for New York magazine. Richard Stengel, the editor of Time.com, is the author of You're Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery (click here to buy it). He was also chief speechwriter and senior adviser on Bill Bradley's presidential campaign. Reader Response from The Fray (to be read after the final entry):
Is Lieberman the Jewish Bill Bradley? No, Lieberman's the male Geraldine Ferraro, another example of liberal politicians' pathetic underestimation of many or most middle American voters' antipathy to women and Jews in power.
--Jake Wimmer
(To reply, click
here.)
Lieberman is not the male Geraldine Ferraro, he's the Jewish Clarence Thomas. And I feel exactly the same way about him that most African Americans felt a few years back: With all our good people out there, he had to pick this guy? I can think of 15 people I'd rather see on the ticket, Jews, non-Jews, you name it. Like most American Jews, I'm not a fundamentalist. School vouchers? Rap lyrics? Oral sex? Get a life. This is not the Friday night political hardball we play at home. I know my peers are drifting right (I'm 32), but there are still some of us who believe in good old-fashioned Jewish family values--human rights, economic justice, equality, non discrimination, peace. You may not see us at the fed dinner, but we're still here. And I don't know who the hell we're going to vote for in the Fall.
--Susan Kane
(To reply, click
here.)
The more interesting thing about this year's VP picks is that there seems to be a shift away from the sort of ticket balancing that usually characterizes this activity. Both Bush and Gore picked men who bring something other than regional or ideological weight to the ticket. The funny part is that this innovation may have originated with Clinton. When ol' Bill picked Gore, we had a ticket with two Southerners on it-- first time ever, I think. Sort of ironic that this innovation has been adopted by Dubya--who is, after all, running as the anti-Clinton; and that Gore has used it to demonstrate his distance from the First Fornicator. Goes to show, though. Clinton is many things, but mostly he was a great political innovator. I expect that VP picks will look more like this year's in the future.
--Bill Altreuter
(To reply, click
here.)
It is bad for us when they conclude that the first question we ask about any news event is, "Good for the Jews"? And especially bad whey they are obviously right. They infer that we care only about ourselves. Stengel, I wish you had started with a different question. I'm more interested in, Good for the Democrats? Good for the Republicans? Good for America?
--Chosen Person
(To reply, click
here.)
To the extent that most people, especially politicians, become less likeable the more you know them, and that Joseph Lieberman's inevitable unlikeability will be associated with Jewishness, it can't be good for Jews.To the extent that his nomination will bring the loony Christian fundamentalists out of the woodwork, they will also become less likeable. This could be good for the country.
--Here All Week
(To reply, click
here.)
[Notes from the Fray Editor: Before we leave politics for more important "Breakfast Table" issues, Terry B says "Bring back the Mendelsohns. We have a Jewish VP candidate! We have a Republican VP candidate with a lesbian daughter! Who better to discuss and analyze what's happening than Jennifer and her brothers?" Another contributor suggested Donny and Marie Osmond as equally suitable siblings, but we think that's a joke.
And still with BT admin issues, there was a bit of a rumble about the timings and length of the various contributions this week: Dan Daly suggested "Midnight Snack Table" might be a more appropriate title, and "...paid by the word?..." and "what time do you call this?" were heard down there in The Fray. Posters have a proprietary air with the "Breakfast Table" and they know what is due to them.
There was some discussion of West Wing and President Bartlet (and no, that's not politics, it's TV). Richard Green says: Don't diss the bagels of Wisconsin. He and another poster named Bagels Forever of Madison as the place to go.
And your Fray Editor loved the rather esoteric post that said "that Italian wooden pencil holder is really ugly". Only really keen Slate readers will know what that one means...]
What did you think of this article?
Join The Fray: Our Reader Discussion Forum
SPONSORED CONTENT
PRINT
DISCUSS
E-MAIL
RSS
RECOMMEND...
Facebook
MySpace
Mixx
Digg
Reddit
del.icio.us
Furl
Ma.gnolia
Sphere
StumbleUpon
How Did Blocking Traffic Become Argentina's Favorite Way To Protest?
The Ridiculous Arguments Against Trying Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in Open Court
How Did They Calculate That Tiger Did $200 Damage to That Tree?
My Ill-Fated Winter Fling With Alicia Keys
Can All of Architecture Be Reduced to 253 Patterns?
The Latest Updates From Barack Obama's Facebook Newsfeed
Reader Response from The Fray (to be read after the final entry):
Is Lieberman the Jewish Bill Bradley? No, Lieberman's the male Geraldine Ferraro, another example of liberal politicians' pathetic underestimation of many or most middle American voters' antipathy to women and Jews in power.
--Jake Wimmer
(To reply, click here.)
Lieberman is not the male Geraldine Ferraro, he's the Jewish Clarence Thomas. And I feel exactly the same way about him that most African Americans felt a few years back: With all our good people out there, he had to pick this guy? I can think of 15 people I'd rather see on the ticket, Jews, non-Jews, you name it. Like most American Jews, I'm not a fundamentalist. School vouchers? Rap lyrics? Oral sex? Get a life. This is not the Friday night political hardball we play at home. I know my peers are drifting right (I'm 32), but there are still some of us who believe in good old-fashioned Jewish family values--human rights, economic justice, equality, non discrimination, peace. You may not see us at the fed dinner, but we're still here. And I don't know who the hell we're going to vote for in the Fall.
--Susan Kane
(To reply, click here.)
The more interesting thing about this year's VP picks is that there seems to be a shift away from the sort of ticket balancing that usually characterizes this activity. Both Bush and Gore picked men who bring something other than regional or ideological weight to the ticket. The funny part is that this innovation may have originated with Clinton. When ol' Bill picked Gore, we had a ticket with two Southerners on it-- first time ever, I think. Sort of ironic that this innovation has been adopted by Dubya--who is, after all, running as the anti-Clinton; and that Gore has used it to demonstrate his distance from the First Fornicator. Goes to show, though. Clinton is many things, but mostly he was a great political innovator. I expect that VP picks will look more like this year's in the future.
--Bill Altreuter
(To reply, click here.)
It is bad for us when they conclude that the first question we ask about any news event is, "Good for the Jews"? And especially bad whey they are obviously right. They infer that we care only about ourselves. Stengel, I wish you had started with a different question. I'm more interested in, Good for the Democrats? Good for the Republicans? Good for America?
--Chosen Person
(To reply, click here.)
To the extent that most people, especially politicians, become less likeable the more you know them, and that Joseph Lieberman's inevitable unlikeability will be associated with Jewishness, it can't be good for Jews.To the extent that his nomination will bring the loony Christian fundamentalists out of the woodwork, they will also become less likeable. This could be good for the country.
--Here All Week
(To reply, click here.)
[Notes from the Fray Editor: Before we leave politics for more important "Breakfast Table" issues, Terry B says "Bring back the Mendelsohns. We have a Jewish VP candidate! We have a Republican VP candidate with a lesbian daughter! Who better to discuss and analyze what's happening than Jennifer and her brothers?" Another contributor suggested Donny and Marie Osmond as equally suitable siblings, but we think that's a joke.
And still with BT admin issues, there was a bit of a rumble about the timings and length of the various contributions this week: Dan Daly suggested "Midnight Snack Table" might be a more appropriate title, and "...paid by the word?..." and "what time do you call this?" were heard down there in The Fray. Posters have a proprietary air with the "Breakfast Table" and they know what is due to them.
There was some discussion of West Wing and President Bartlet (and no, that's not politics, it's TV). Richard Green says: Don't diss the bagels of Wisconsin. He and another poster named Bagels Forever of Madison as the place to go.
And your Fray Editor loved the rather esoteric post that said "that Italian wooden pencil holder is really ugly". Only really keen Slate readers will know what that one means...]