A MOST ORTHODOX CANDIDATE

According to the Associated Press, the Gore campaign hoped Lieberman's selection would be a "bold stroke" heading into next week's Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles. Lord knows, the Democrats need a bold stroke after the Republican convention, but I’m afraid Lieberman ain’t it.

I know Gore's pick comes as a crushing disappointment to those around here who would have loved to see Senator John Edwards get the nod, Johnny being a local boy and all. I myself like Edwards a lot, so I've kept my mouth shut on the topic. For all I know, Al Gore reads this column, and I didn’t want to screw up Johnny's chances. However, now that the cat’s left the bag, I have to say that I think Edwards would have been a disastrous pick for two reasons. The biggest one is that Edwards has only been in one elective office--junior Senator from North Carolina--and he's only held that for two years. He's a darn good junior Senator and a compelling speaker, but he'd have a hard time overcoming the experience gap with Dick Cheney. His time will come (and being a front-runner in the Veepstakes has given him an enormous bounce), but that time is not yet.

Secondly, Edwards made his name and his fortune as a trial lawyer. This isn't a slam against trial lawyers, since I am one myself. But nominating one for Veep would be an opening too good for the Republican public relations machine to pass up. You think the GOP has engaged in lawyer bashing before? Put a trial lawyer on the Democratic ticket and they would’ve mounted a PR campaign that'll end with us being hunted for sport.

Now, on to Lieberman. Some people have expressed concern over the fact that Lieberman is not only Jewish, he's Orthodox, with the dietary restrictions and the no work on the Sabbath and everything. There have been some questions raised as to whether he could "fulfill his duties" if any of them happened to fall on the Jewish Sabbath.

Oh, please. Don’t be a schmuck, as they say. Numero uno, Lieberman has consulted with religious authorities and apparently has decided that he can work during the Sabbath to promote "the respect and protection of human life and well-being." This is a loophole big enough to drive an ox AND an ass through. (As a lawyer, I have to respect a people who have been arguing over the finer points of law like this for 5000 years.)

Numero two-o, there's got to be something in the Torah or the Talmud or whatever that says if your country gets attacked or disaster strikes, a Jewish leader can do whatever it takes to do his job, Sabbath or no Sabbath. Otherwise, the country of Israel wouldn't have made it through the first weekend.

Vice-presidential duties aside, some have expressed doubts as to whether Lieberman can keep to a busy campaign schedule if he has to take off from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. It seems that Lieberman skipped one of his state nominating conventions because it was held on the Sabbath. This concerns political strategists who’d keep the candidates on the road 24/7 if they could. Frankly, however, I find the idea of a candidate who can be counted on to shut the heck up for at least twenty-four hours once a week rather appealing, don’t you?

All things considered, it appears as though Judaism is a bigger deal to Al Gore and Co. than it is to the rest of the public. Ironic, isn’t it? The party that’s so adamant about the separation of church and state making such a big deal over the religion of one of its candidates.

Polls, however, seem to indicate that the American people regard having a Jewish guy on the ticket is no big deal. One poll said that 92 percent of people responding claimed they'd have no problem voting for a Jewish candidate. (I wonder if they'd answer the same way if the candidate was Howie Mandel. )

So this begs the question: other than picking a Jew, where's the "bold stroke"? Lieberman is a well-thought-of Senator with years of experience and a sterling reputation. He’s apparently a moderate. (You can tell because Time says the choice will "please liberals" and Salon claims the choice will "alienate Gore’s liberal base." Anyone who causes this much confusion must be a moderate.) In the final analysis, Gore went with an experienced Washington insider, just as Bush did by choosing Cheney. This makes Lieberman a fine, respectable choice, just not a particularly bold one.

COPYRIGHT 2000 BY JERRY D. RHOADES, JR.