Lawrence O'Donnell and Richard Stengel
Praise the Lord and Pull the Lever
By Richard Stengel
Posted Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000, at 5:18 PM ETLawrence:
I actually didn't find Lieberman's speech all that dull. Remember, the rhetorical standard is stolid Dick Cheney. I did find all the God stuff a little bit worrisome, as you suggested. Think about it this way. If that were a Republican vice-presidential nominee thanking the Lord over and over, it would be a little more squeamish-making. So forget the separation of church and state, what about the separation of state and synagogue?
Plus, there's such a thing as too much gratitude. Abject gratitude. Again, transpose Lieberman's remarks to whoever will be the first African-American vice-presidential nominee, and it would sound like he was thanking Massah for his miraculous generosity.
Yes, he's talking about Jewishness more than JFK talked about Catholicism, but this is the age of Oprah and self-revelation. When Kennedy ran, you showed your lack of prejudice by not talking about things, as though you didn't even notice or care that someone was Catholic, or black, or a woman.
I assume Lieberman had a word with the Gore pollsters before writing his speech because of the way he highlighted Gore's devotion to family. During the Bradley campaign, I attended focus groups in New Hampshire and discovered that the one thing people knew about Gore was this: family man. And they liked that. A lot. That will be the way they will try to boost's Al's likability, if it's possible.
And speaking of the Bradley campaign, that Andrew Jackson line that Lieberman used--"one man with courage makes a majority"--comes right out of the Bradley stump. But, as T.S. Eliot said, in words that comfort plagiarists everywhere, "good poets borrow, great poets steal."
Praise the Lord and Pull the Lever
By Richard Stengel
Posted Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000, at 5:18 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
The Tea Party Protesters Are Getting Smarter
Lithwick: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's Trial Is a Lousy Place To Examine the Legality of Torture
Who Is Mrs. Cohen From Hadera, and Should Israelis Care Where She Puts Her Money?
What Wired, Esquire, and Hooters Magazines Think You Should Give for Christmas
Save the Planet. Eat More Brie.
How Easy Is It To Hike Into Iran Accidentally?
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...]