Battling for the center in L.A. and Philly

Lieberman is known as a centrist or New Democrat, chairing the Democrat Leadership Council. The way to market him is as someone who rises above partisan battles in Congress, and helps build a consensus to pass bi-partisan measures. What does this mean? He votes with Republicans on some core issues. Notably he supports school vouchers – a scheme allocating public funds to parents to help pay for their kids to go to private schools. Such schemes are believed to divert money out of public school system, are fiercely opposed by most Democrats and are a litmus test for support from the teachers unions. Far from trashing Lieberman’s voting record, as Democrats did with Cheney, the Republicans have been quick to adopt Gore’s running mate as one of their own.

While this may serve as good positioning for Gore in the battle for the center ground, the choice may be ‘risky’ (to use one of Gore’s favorite words) by doing little to energize the Democrat core. This may be an issue as Gore faces a third party threat from the left with Ralph Nader running as the Green Party candidate.

In Lieberman, Gore has chosen a decent man whose personal style is relaxed and non-confrontational. The choice also marks a significant breakthrough against ethnic and religious boundaries in politics. Yet critics may argue that the upshot of Gore’s choice is that three Republicans are now running on a presidential ticket.

All that remains for the Democrats is to unveil their message at the Convention in Los Angeles, which is opening as I write. Much of the talk is about establishing Gore as his own person, bringing him out of the shadow of Bill Clinton. But at the same time they want to incorporate the President’s legacy of economic prosperity, and any other of Clinton’s successes, into Gore’s record. And then there’s also Clinton’s skill as a fundraiser that has to be utilized. And then there’s the small matter of his wife running for the Senate. So there’s not much chance of Clinton fading into obscurity just yet. And with this in mind, it remains to be seen how the Democrats will succeed in casting their new leading man in Hollywood this week.