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Democrats Nominate Gore and Lieberman August 14, 2000 The Democratic National Convention closed Thursday night with presidential nominee Al Gore promising to fight for working Americans. "I stand here tonight as my own man, and I want you to know me for who I truly am," Gore said. "I know one thing about the job of the president. It is the only job in the Constitution that is charged with the responsibility of fighting for all the people -- not just the people of one state or one district, not just the wealthy or powerful -- all the people. So I say to you tonight, if you entrust me with the presidency, I will fight for you." In a speech so long on policy specifics that it sounded more like a State of the Union address than a campaign speech, he described his agenda if elected president, including expanding health care, shoring up Social Security, prohibiting school vouchers, supporting abortion rights, passing hate crimes legislation, and enforcing civil rights laws. As the convention began on Thursday, news swept the convention floor that independent prosecutor Robert Ray had convened a grand jury to further investigate President Clinton's perjury regarding his affair with former White House intern Monica Lewinsky. Former independent prosecutor Kenneth Starr's report accusing Clinton of obstruction of justice and perjury led to Clinton's, although he was acquitted during the subsequent Senate trial. Many delegates regarded the grand jury news as indication that Republicans would continue to campaign against Gore based on Clinton's moral missteps. In a column on the CBS web site, Dan Rather accused the Republicans of leaking the news. "You don't have to be a cynic to note that this has all the earmarks of a carefully orchestrated, politically motivated leak," he wrote. "The Republican-backed Robert Ray is sponsored by a three-judge panel...that features two federal judges backed by the Jesse Helms wing of the Republican party." However, Federal judge Richard D. Cudahy, a Jimmy Carter appointee, admitted the next day that he had leaked the grand jury story. Cudahy said he had inadvertently let out the information during a discussion with a reporter. The judge's admirable admission proved that the leaker wasn't Robert Ray, the Republicans, or George W. Bush. Rather has yet to apologize. Gore did not directly mention the scandals of the Clinton/Gore administration. However, referring to the promises of Republicans George W. Bush and Dick Cheney to restore honor and dignity to the White House, Gore said, "There's one other word we've heard a lot of in this campaign, and that word is honor. To me, honor is not just a word, but an obligation. And you have my word: we will honor hard work by raising the minimum wage so that work always pays more than welfare. We will honor families by expanding childcare...We will honor the ideal of equality by standing up for civil rights and defending affirmative action. We will honor equal rights..." However, when Bush spoke of restoring honor to the White House, he obviously meant having a president who does not lie under oath, seduce the interns, and solicit illegal campaign contributions. By responding to this problem by saying that he'll raise the minimum wage, Gore did little to address the Clinton sleaze factor that has continued to drag him down in the polls. According to the official convention web site, "Al Gore delivered his most inspired speech ever to an admiring crowd that could not contain their enthusiasm." Other reviewers were less enthusiastic. Columnist Paul Greenberg described it as "a night of sheer goredom," saying "There were no signs of the new economy or the new politics in his thinking, only the old demagoguery." Cal Thomas described the speech as "mechanical." But more than the delivery, the content of the speech was schizophrenic. It's hard for Gore to take credit for the 8 years of prosperity of the Clinton-Gore administration while whining about the powerful in this country grinding the poor under. As Cal Thomas put it, "Weren't Gore and Clinton in charge these last eight years? If there are so many problems -- cultural depravity and 'meanness' were two that Gore mentioned -- why did they not do something about them? Listening to Gore, one was left to conclude that this administration did nothing, or was unwilling or incapable of doing anything, to right the wrongs Gore now claims to see so clearly." Senator Joe Lieberman accepted the Democratic vice presidential nomination Wednesday evening in a speech that combined praise for Al Gore with attacks against Republican rivals Bush and Cheney. Lieberman, the first Jewish candidate nominated for a major party ticket, was the first Democrat to criticize Clinton's behavior in the Lewinsky scandal, although he subsequently voted to acquit Clinton in the Senate trial. It has been widely speculated that Gore's selection of Lieberman of Connecticut is an attempt to separate himself from the Clinton scandals. Lieberman also earned renown for his role on a Senate committee that probed campaign fund-raising abuses in the 1996 presidential campaign. He refused to join fellow Democrats who vigorously defended Clinton and Gore fund-raising practices, including Gore's appearance at a Buddhist Temple in California in which donations from communist China were solicited. However, in his speech, Lieberman took a different line, defending Gore's character. "I know his record and I know his heart," Lieberman said. "I know him as a public servant and I know what it is like to sit with him around the dining room table." But Lieberman's only reference to Clinton was an oblique statement that Americans were better off today than they were eight years ago. The most moving part of Lieberman's speech came when he told the convention of his family roots in Connecticut. He described his father, who grew up in an orphanage, drove a bakery truck, and eventually owned his own package store. He also told of his wife Hadassah's parents, who survived a Nazi concentration camp and immigrated to United States. "Her family was literally saved by American GI's who liberated the concentration camps. Then her parents escaped communism and were welcomed as immigrants to America ... the fact that a half century later, their daughter would be standing on this stage is a testament to the power of the American Dream." On Tuesday, a roster of heavyweights from the left wing of the party addressed the convention. In addition to union leaders, civil rights leader Jesse Jackson, and Gore's Democratic rival Bill Bradley, members of the Kennedy family once again took the podium. Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy has been a fixture at the Democratic conventions, but John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline made her first convention speech, leading some to wonder if she were being groomed for political office. In 1960, when the Democrats chose Jack Kennedy as their candidate, he called America toward a "New Frontier" in his acceptance speech. "Now it's time to prove that the New Frontier was not a place in time, but a timeless call," proclaimed his Caroline Kennedy. She urged the delegates to work to help Gore create the "America of our ideals." A member of the Kennedy family has spoken at every Democratic National Convention since 1956. President Clinton addressed the convention on Monday night. "I come here, above all to say 'Thank You.'" Gore advisors might have hoped that Clinton would, above all, endorse Al Gore. However, Clinton spent most of his time describing the accomplishments of his administration to ensure his legacy is remembered. Former President Jimmy Carter put in an appearance at the convention during a tribute to Carter, who is the only living Democratic ex-president. When asked how Clinton would be remembered 50 years from now, Carter replied that Clinton would be remembered as "one of only two president to be impeached." Like the Republicans, the Democrats apparently tried to make their convention look like an infomercial by including such celebrities as singers Melissa Etheridge and Stevie Wonder, rap group Boyz II Men, actors Hector Elizando and Pat Morita, and swimsuit model Christie Brinkley. One would have thought with the convention being held in Los Angeles and 99 percent of Hollywood supporting Gore, that the Democrats could have attracted bigger celebrities than these. Bigger celebrities would have kept the convention from looking like an infomercial, but hey, if you wouldn't buy something from an infomercial, you probably wouldn't buy what the Democrats are saying. However, it should be noted that each of these celebrities was chosen because they represented a particular minority group. Etheridge is a lesbian, Boyz II Men are black, Wonder is both blind and black, Elizando is Hispanic, and Morita is Asian. One wonders which minority group Brinkley was chose to represent--blond white women? Maybe as someone who actually appears in infomercials, she represented informercial actresses. In case you’re wondering who represented white men, that would be Al Gore, Bill Clinton, and Ted Kennedy--the Democrats are pretty inclusive except when it comes to choosing the top dog. In the "I'm more patriotic than you" contest, the Democrats definitely came out losers as they succeeded in mangling the National Anthem three times during prime time. On Monday night, Etheridge performed the Anthem without actually singing the whole song. After "the twilight's last gleaming," she segued into "America the Beautiful." After a few lines of that, she moved on to "This Land is Your Land," an old favorite of leftist summer camps and labor organizers. This got the delegates on their feet until Etheridge cast a pall on things by singing one last line of the National Anthem to finish her performance. The next night was an improvement when actor Morita, best known for The Karate Kid, performed an unaccompanied version of the Anthem that at least included the entire first verse as traditionally performed. It wasn't overly embarrassing, but would there have been anything wrong with having an actual singer do the job? Stevie Wonder is a professional singer, but on Wednesday night, he cut out the middle of the song. "We are an orchestra of many cultures," he said. Then he sang a couple of lines of the Anthem before moving on to "Lift Every Voice and Sing." The delegates clapped in time before Wonder returned for another bit of the real thing. Maybe the Democrats should get Rosanne Barr to sing the national anthem at their next convention. Or they could just play a video tape of dead 60s rocker Jimi Hendrix playing the anthem (at least Hendrix didn't cut out the middle of the song). Last week, top Democratic officials removed California Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez as a speaker at the convention after she refused to cancel a political fund-raiser at the Playboy Mansion. Sanchez is vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Her proposed Playboy fund-raiser was an embarrassment to Gore, particularly since he's trying to distance himself from the Clinton sex scandals. However, moving against Sanchez was sensitive because of the importance of the Hispanic vote in key electoral states, particularly California. Sanchez later agreed to move the fundraiser to Universal Studios.
© 2000 TruthNews. All Rights Reserved. And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
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