Lieberman Endorses McCain
December 17, 2007
Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) has announced his endorsement for John McCain’s candidacy. Senator Lieberman is a lifelong Democrat, though he ran on the Independent Democrat ticket when his party gave its support to someone else in the last election. He was also Al Gore’s running mate in the 2000 presidential election. So why is he endorsing a Republican?
Lieberman insists that his endorsement is “in no way an endorsement of the (Republican) Party, just the man.” He also stated, “Being a Republican is important. Being a Democrat is important. But you know what’s more important than that? The interest and well-being of the United States of America. Let’s put the United States first again, and John McCain is the man as president who will help us do that” (CNN).
Lieberman and McCain are long-time friends, having worked together on measures regarding the Balkans (Kosovo, Bosnia) in the 90s, co-hosting trips to the Conference on Security Policy held in Munich, and pushing legislation establishing the 9/11 Commission (Fox News). In McCain’s own words: “He is a principled leader, a good friend, and I am proud to have his support.”
The Democratic Party withdrew its support from Lieberman and endorsed another candidate for his Senate seat because of his support for the war in Iraq (Washington Post). Lieberman said his support for McCain included his confidence in McCain “to lead us against the war versus Islamic elitist terrorism” as well as his ability “to unite our country and cross political lines.”
