What did Joe Liberman bring to the Democratic ticket in 2000?

[© Tweed the Younger]

Jews in Florida.  sadly, they broke for Buchanan at the last second.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Obviously Senator Bob Graham of Florida would have been a much better choice.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Jews in Florida.  sadly, they broke for Buchanan at the last second.

Kerry did just as well as Gore with them, despite not doing as well in Florida overall.

[pbrower2a]

Defeat.

I think of some alternatives:

John Kerry. weak as a campaigner as he was, was more effective than Joe Lieberman. He would have flipped New Hampshire and done just as well in winning the Jewish vote in Florida. Bare win, but enough -- in New Hampshire, if not Florida.

John Edwards would have consolidated some possible support in the South that Clinton got -- but Gore couldn't. A fiery populist from the South excites the South as a  d@mnyankee semi-liberal... doesn't. Edwards might have flipped Ohio. Edwards would have been perfect for the beat-the-cheat strategy that Gore needed because he needed the entire South.  

Jay Rockefeller (said above) would have picked up West Virginia; that would have been enough.

David Pryor would have surely picked up Arkansas; that would have been enough.

.. I think that Al Gore believed that the Bush campaign would operate on the level -- a gross misjudgment. The "black baby" canard against a fellow Republican opponent should have disabused Gore of any impression that Karl Rove would run anything other than a vicious and corrupt campaign and wouldn't stop at electoral fraud if given the chance.

 

[nclib]

Joe Lieberman brought a token Jew to the ticket, and we know based on the 2008 that Dems love token candidates

It couldn't also be his reputation as a Democrat who distanced himself from Clinton or that he was strong on defense?

Of course not.

It was just that he was a jew.  Nice argument there.

Is any non-Christian, non-white, or woman token in your opinion?

When they are chosen simply because they are Jewish or black (ex. Lieberman or Obama), then yes that is the definition of token candidate.  If they focus their campaign around their minority status that is also the definition of a token candidate.  Non-token candidates would include Harold Ford Jr., Deval Patrick, Sarah Palin, etc.

The GOP has their own tokens too, Clarence Thomas, Michael Steele, Lynn Swann, etc.

[Nym90]

Nothing at all. Republicans may have loved his conservative votes and his attacks on Democrats, but they didn't vote for his ticket.

Actually at the time they didn't. Rush Limbaugh and his ilk ripped into him as being an elitist Northeastern liberal. Of course, he was a lot more liberal pre 9/11 than he is now.

[pogo stick]

I think he was a good choice. Good man. Honest man. A Jew. lol

[Bo]

He might have added slightly more Jewish voters to the ticket, but Jews are such a small percentage of the population that it would not have made a difference (except maybe in Florida). However, this was compensated since his religion unfortunately caused a lot of Muslims and anti-Semites to vote for Bush (and in Florida, a very small amount of votes matters) and also might have caused many liberal Democrats (who were disappointed that there was no liberal on the ticker) to vote for Nader or stay home due to his (and Gore's) centrist views.

[phk]

He might have added slightly more Jewish voters to the ticket, but Jews are such a small percentage of the population that it would not have made a difference (except maybe in Florida). However, this was compensated since his religion unfortunately caused a lot of Muslims and anti-Semites to vote for Bush (and in Florida, a very small amount of votes matters) and also might have caused many liberal Democrats (who were disappointed that there was no liberal on the ticker) to vote for Nader or stay home due to his (and Gore's) centrist views.

Pretty much. Muslim anti-Semitism caused a lot of potential Gore voters to switch to Nader and bush.

[Bo]

He might have added slightly more Jewish voters to the ticket, but Jews are such a small percentage of the population that it would not have made a difference (except maybe in Florida). However, this was compensated since his religion unfortunately caused a lot of Muslims and anti-Semites to vote for Bush (and in Florida, a very small amount of votes matters) and also might have caused many liberal Democrats (who were disappointed that there was no liberal on the ticker) to vote for Nader or stay home due to his (and Gore's) centrist views.

Pretty much. Muslim anti-Semitism caused a lot of potential Gore voters to switch to Nader and bush.

If Gore picked Lieberman because he wanted to energize the Jewish vote, then he made a mistake. If energizing the Jewish vote was Gore's goal, then he should have picked Dianne Feinstein, since that would have also energized the women's vote in addition to energizing the Jewish vote. Even Russ Feingold, who would have energized the Democratic base in addition to the Jewish vote, would have been a better pick. Feinstein was probably the best choice for Gore if he wanted a Jewish VP, though.