|
||||||||
  |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Who is the real Joe Lieberman?
(CNN) -- Democrat Joseph Lieberman, a three-term senator and 2000 vice presidential candidate, jumped into the 2004 presidential race Monday. Other key Democratic candidates in the running include Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt. Can Sen. Lieberman gain the top spot to challenge President Bush? Democratic consultant Kiki McLean joined special "Crossfire" guest host Ralph Nader and Tucker Carlson on Monday to discuss Sen. Lieberman's chances. MCLEAN: ... I think Joe Lieberman is a thoughtful man who's not afraid to talk about what he's thinking about. ... I think that's why he's a great candidate for president -- because I think he's somebody who is independent in the way he thinks and not afraid to talk about what he thinks. I think he's somebody who believes in ideas, and it's important to have that kind of dialogue. And I think you would have to agree, of all the candidates you know, this man has a level of integrity that is unquestionable. NADER: Well, here we go, personal point of privilege, Kiki. MCLEAN: Well, you're going to have to have a lot of privilege. NADER: It was clearly not Tennessee. It was clearly not Arkansas. It was clearly not the Southern Democrats in Florida. It was clearly not his wooden performance on the debates. It was just all those Green Party voters. MCLEAN: You know, the amazing thing is some day, Ralph, you'll want to take credit for the votes you siphoned off. But that's a whole other inside baseball game debate. NADER: Let's ask a simple question. MCLEAN: Sure. NADER: You know, Joe Lieberman is my senator. He's personally a very nice person. He's very polite. But sometimes he's a cruel man with a smile. But let me just ask you this: I've never seen ... MCLEAN: This must be a very unique experience you have with him. NADER: Has Joe Lieberman ever seen a weapons system he doesn't like? On four key areas, what is the difference between Joe Lieberman and George W. Bush? Foreign policy, military policy, the insurance companies and globalization. MCLEAN: OK. Joe Lieberman believes that we ought to have a strong United States. Joe Lieberman doesn't believe we ought to go out with unilateral policy. Joe Lieberman believes that people need health insurance and he's fighting to make sure that we can get our kids health insurance. NADER: Universal health insurance? MCLEAN: That's a big difference from what George W. Bush [stands for]. ... And in the end, Ralph, Joe Lieberman believes that the solution may not be absolutely black and white, that we've got to find the right answer. And you know what? There are all kinds of positions you can take in life and never see any progress. But he's somebody who is about making progress. NADER: Foreign policy? MCLEAN: Joe Lieberman believes in several areas, like I just said, about the war on Iraq. You can't move unilaterally, but you have to take a strong stand on our national defense and on our foreign policy. It's important. CARLSON: You know, Kiki, I know you indicated a minute ago that Joe Lieberman has -- what's the term you used? --- progressed. I think that's the ... MCLEAN: He believes in making progress. He believes in actually making things happen. CARLSON: Yes, or changes his mind on issues. MCLEAN: This is a guy who as an attorney general decided it was important to fight deadbeat dads and make sure moms got ... CARLSON: Well who doesn't think that? Come on. No, Kiki, please. ... MCLEAN: Here is the difference. Here is the difference. Not only does he believe it, he did something about it, Tucker. He didn't just sit on your show and talk about it. CARLSON: That's like coming out for toddler. Now I want you to respond to this quote, however. This is from USA Today. Nobody says Lieberman didn't say this. On March 10, 1995, Lieberman said, "The DLC [Democratic Leadership Council] has no specific position on the review of affirmative action under way by the White House, but he said he feels group preferences are," quote, "patently unfair." So, the guy's against affirmative action. So am I. But I'm not running for president as a Democrat, am I? MCLEAN: Here's what he has said about affirmative action and here is the position he's taking; he's been very consistent about this. There were, as you know, Supreme Court rulings which question the constitutionality [of] how some affirmative action measures were being enacted. And he agreed that there were some questions. He supported President Clinton's review of affirmative action. President Clinton came out in the end and said, "We need to mend it, not end it. We need to fix it so it works right, so the opponents like you can't tear it totally apart." And that's the position he's had all along. Pretty simple. CARLSON: So he hasn't changed a bit. MCLEAN: He's been very consistent. It's killing, Tucker. You know, anybody I support for president, Tucker can't stand.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
AIRS: Weekdays 4:30 p.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. PT
