Lieberman takes on Bush's integrity in new campaign push

MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Seeking to energize his presidential bid, Senator Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut yesterday launched an aggressive personal attack on George W. Bush, questioning his integrity and trustworthiness in an attempt to frame the election as a referendum on the president's moral character.

The new campaign push, which uses the slogan "Leading With Integrity," seeks to capitalize on Lieberman's reputation, which came to national prominence five years ago. In 1998, Lieberman, standing on the Senate floor, criticized President Clinton's behavior during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. In a clear parallel, the presidential candidate sought, with this new strategy, to portray himself as the most authentic critic of Bush's leadership abilities.

"This is about, who do you trust to run the country?" Lieberman said yesterday in an interview before he unveiled the strategy at a speech in Manchester.

Lieberman accused Bush of misleading the country on the war in Iraq, as well as misleading voters three years ago when he ran as a "compassionate conservative."

"He's governed from the right wing," Lieberman said.

The move occurs at a time when Lieberman's campaign is struggling to gain traction. Former Vermont governor Howard Dean has jumped to a commanding lead in polls and fund-raising.

But yesterday, before 200 cheering supporters in Manchester, Lieberman sought to bring a new edge to his campaign.

"There will sometimes be debate about my actions, but there will never be distrust in my motives. That is my promise, so help me God," said Lieberman, prompting a standing ovation.

The "Leading With Integrity" tour will be in Oklahoma today, where Lieberman will discuss homeland security. Tomorrow it travels to South Carolina to discuss middle-class family issues, then to Florida, where the topic is Social Security.

Yesterday, Lieberman also reintroduced his tax plan, which would give lower- and middle-income families a $300 billion tax cut and pay for it by substantially increasing taxes on the wealthy and corporations. Under Lieberman's plan, a married couple earning $50,000 a year would save about $1,000. Those earning $75,000 would save as much as $1,500 dollars a year. In essence, Lieberman would keep Bush's tax cut for the middle class while repealing Bush's tax cuts for the rich.

"I want to restore integrity and fairness to the tax code with a bold plan for middle-class tax reform," Lieberman said.

Thus far in the campaign, Lieberman had tried to sell himself as the centrist candidate: tough on terrorism, in favor of free trade and tax cuts, a proponent of family values, while more liberal on most social and environmental issues. But Dean has clearly stolen his thunder. In recent weeks, especially during televised debates, Lieberman has more aggressively attacked his opponents, seeking to change his image as the genial senator from Connecticut.

In an interview yesterday, Lieberman displayed a flash of anger when discussing the latest Washington scandal, in which anonymous White House staff members disclosed the identity of a covert CIA agent, allegedly in an effort to exact revenge on her husband, a critic of Bush's war in Iraq. He said it was the latest in a pattern of "the politics of personal destruction." Lieberman did say Bush was "a good guy" and refused to call him a liar. Instead, he said the president was "at the best, misleading" about his economic policies and the war in Iraq.

Lieberman said he thought his new strategy would help him gather support among Democratic voters who have yet to select a candidate: "This race in undecided."

Raja Mishra can be reached at rmishra@globe.com.