WASHINGTON, 18 July — Can an Orthodox Jew become America’s next president? That question is being seriously, and hotly debated, behind the closed doors of Washington’s Democratic powers-that-be.
The most important question under consideration is whether the Connecticut senator should, and would, break with former Democratic running mate Al Gore and run for president in 2004.
Whether or not Lieberman will challenge the man who propelled him on to the national stage, Washington insiders point to a number of steps the senator has taken to firm up his national base since the election.
Lieberman recently established the “Responsibility, Opportunity and Community Political Action Committee” (ROCPAC), which has raised more than $175,000 to help the senator with travel expenses during the upcoming months, including a scheduled fall trip to the electoral primary state of New Hampshire.
Along with a multitude of appearances on the all-important Sunday talk-show circuit, Lieberman’s backers say there is no better indication of his newfound national prominence than his soaring demand to stump for fellow Democrats. As a result, he has crisscrossed the country for speaking engagements and fundraisers, which have included several events in the key electoral states of California, South Carolina and Pennsylvania.
He also has visited Florida three times, strengthening the wide support he enjoys in that state, which includes that of the state’s large Jewish population, and the good ties he has to the important Cuban-American community, who view him as an ally against the Castro regime.
In terms of legislation, the senator has been influential on a number of bills that could bear political fruit down the road. Along with a key role on the president’s education bill, which is currently in Senate-House debate, Lieberman has proposed legislation on gun control, media violence and the regulation of carbon dioxide.
Insiders close to Lieberman have told Arab News that if polls leading up to the primaries show Lieberman leading over Gore, the Democratic party will pressure Lieberman to the forefront and force Gore to bow out — in order to avert a nasty fight in the Democratic primaries.
Lastly, on the question of whether American voters are ready to elect a Jewish president — that remains a hard card to call.
“(Lieberman’s religion) is an underground issue,” Sidney Zion, a columnist for the New York Post, recently wrote. “It’s a real wildcard. It may come overground if he ran for president — and I don’t think it would work (in the candidate’s favor). Or as they say, ‘Not at this time.’”
But last year, in an August 2000 Gallup poll, 90 percent of Americans polled said they would have no problem voting for a well-qualified candidate in their party “who happened to be Jewish.”
