Lieberman and attack politics
AS A DEMOCRATIC presidential candidate, Bill Clinton had his "Sister Souljah" moment -- an orchestrated effort to prove to white Americans that he wasn't beholden to the Rev. Jesse Jackson and the population he represents. Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, who is running for president as the self-proclaimed inheritor of Clinton's centrist politics, is not quite ready to have his. Asked why he and fellow Democrats running for president are unwilling to challenge the Rev. Al Sharpton on his race-baiting past, Lieberman demonstrates more of the same unwillingness: "I disagree with a lot of things the Rev. Sharpton has said and done," said Lieberman during an interview yesterday at the Globe. But, he added, "In fairness, people change." If Sharpton "says anything I disagree with" during this campaign, "I'm going to say so." In the meantime, on the campaign trail, "the Rev. Sharpton has conducted himself quite admirably."
Lieberman did acknowledge that he wished Sharpton had apologized for his role in the Tawana Brawley hoax, which falsely accused six white men, including a prosecutor, of rape.
Clearly, if you're Lieberman, some political opponents need to be held accountable for their past actions. Sharpton is not one of them; former Vermont Governor Howard Dean definitely is.
Lieberman seized the opportunity yesterday to bring up the controversy surrounding Dean's effort to seal state records for the 10 years he was governor of Vermont. Comparing Dean's refusal to open up those records to efforts by President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney to keep various records closed for national security reasons, Lieberman said, "It's a long walk from straight talk."
He also criticized Dean for his advocacy of a complete rollback of the Bush tax cuts, "inexperience," and protectionist views that would "cost us millions of jobs." Lieberman did not criticize any other opponent by name until asked if Dean is the only candidate he views as a threat to Democratic victory next year.
The political strategy here is obvious. Unlike Sharpton, Dean does have a real chance of being the Democratic nominee. To stop him, Lieberman is first trying to link Dean to the pre-Clinton years, when the perception was, as he said at the Globe, that "Democrats took pleasure out of taxing people. They didn't share mainstream values. There were not strong on defense. They were more focused on protecting the rights of criminals than the rights of victims. They were the protectionist party. They were fiscally irresponsible." If Lieberman can also link Dean to the super-secretive Bush administration, that is all the better.
This strategy explains why Americans are so cynical about politics and politicians and why the cynicism extends to intelligent, sensible, decent politicians like Lieberman.
It is outrageous for Dean to try to keep his Vermont gubernatorial records sealed. He deserves to be questioned about them, and should be pressed on his assertion yesterday to anchor Charles Gibson on "Good Morning America" that "sealing gubernatorial records is routine." However, voters know that opponents like Lieberman will lead the charge on such questioning, since their political hopes are rooted in Dean's demise.
But it is also outrageous that the field of Democratic presidential hopefuls is so solicitous of Sharpton. And the average voter also knows Democrats will continue to be solicitous of Sharpton, out of fear of offending the African-American constituency he represents. They will offend only if and when it makes political sense to offend.
Clinton did not bash rap singer Sister Souljah until he secured the Democratic presidential nomination. In the summer of 1992, he criticized Sister Souljah for her statement, "If black people kill black people every day, why not have a week and kill white people?" It was pure political calculation.
Sharpton does not have any real chance of capturing the Democratic presidential nomination; at the same time, he represents a constituency that is worth courting in the 2004 presidential campaign. At the moment, there is little political value in attacking him, so Lieberman and the rest of the field won't bother.
The moral of the story: Some political outrages are more dangerous to an opponent's political ambition than others. If an opponent can derail your dreams for higher office, it is time to sound the alarm in hopes of derailing his.
Joan Vennochi's e-mail address is vennochi@globe.com.
