So let me tell you some things that may surprise at least Ned, but shouldn't. I know George Bush. I have worked against George Bush. I have even run against George Bush. But, Ned, I'm not George Bush.
Joe Lieberman during July 6th Debate
My fellow flock of rabid lambs, we have been unfair to Joe. He's right. He's NOT George Bush. Of course, we never claimed he was, but we did say he sounded very Republican. Therefore, I think only fair that we give the guy the chance to show he sounds nothing like the GOP.
Therefore, let's play "Who Said That?"
Here's how you play:
I'll give you two blind quotes, one from Lieberman, the other from a Republican. You have to guess which is which.
Let's be nice to Joe and show him we know he's not George Bush by showing him we can tell the difference from the words he says.
1. Progress in Iraq
Quote A:
"I hope there's not an expectation from people that, all of a sudden, there's going to be zero violence -- in other words, it's just not going to be the case," he said. "On the other hand, I do think we'll be able to measure progress. You can measure progress in capacity of Iraqi units. You can measure progress in megawatts of electricity delivered. You can measure progress in terms of oil sold on the market on behalf of the Iraqi people."
Quote B:
The situation in Iraq is a lot better, different than it was a year ago. The Iraqis held three elections. They formed a unity government. They are on the way to building a free and independent Iraq. Their military -- two-thirds of their military is now ready, on their own, to lead the fight with some logistical backing from the U.S. or stand up on their own totally. That's progress.
2. Resoluteness in Iraq
Quote A:
He has taken all sorts of positions. One day saying he is for withdrawal and another day he is not. One day saying he is for a specific deadline, another day he is not.
Quote B:
The only consistent about my opponent's position is that he's been inconsistent. He changes positions. And you cannot change positions in this war on terror if you expect to win.
3.Challenging the President
Quote A:
[Democrats] denigrate not just the leadership of the commander in chief, but the courage and perseverance of those doing the fighting by claiming "we cannot win" in Iraq.
Quote B:
It's time for Democrats who distrust President Bush to acknowledge that he will be the commander in chief for three more critical years and that in matters of war we undermine presidential credibility at our nation's peril.
4. Debate Technique
Quote A:
There you go again.
Quote B:
Well, there you go again.
5. Social Security Privatization
Quote A:
If we can figure out a way to help people through private accounts or something else, great.
Quote B:
Reform is necessary, and voluntary personal retirement accounts are part of the solution to permanently fix Social Security.
6. Clinton Impeachment
Quote A:
And that, of course, is not a question about Bill Clinton so much as it is a question about the American people--about who we are and what we have become. And more and more everyday I think we see, as the current crisis of impeachment develops, that that question about us--who we are; what our principles are; what our conscience is about; what it will stand or tolerate; how this relates to the future of our country and our institutions--that question about us becomes more and more the central issue of the crisis.
And that is not an accident. For, in fact, what we are witnessing is but one element of the moral crisis which besets this nation overall, and which I sincerely believe will come to a head in this time, in order to determine the future of our institutions of self-government. By what we decide, both in the immediate crisis of impeachment and with respect to the larger issues that embody the moral challenge of our time, we will determine whether or not self-government continues in America, or whether, like previous republics, this one perishes--perishes because it can no longer maintain the moral environment, the moral foundations, the moral culture, that is needed to sustain it.
Quote B:
To begin with, I must respectfully disagree with the President's contention that his relationship with Monica Lewinsky and the way in which he misled us about it is "nobody's business but" his family's and that "even presidents have private lives," as he said Whether he or we as a people think it fair or not, the reality in 1998 is that a president's private life is public. Contemporary news media standards will have it no other way. Surely this President was given fair warning of that by the amount of time the news media has dedicated to investigating his personal life during the 1992 campaign and in the years since.
But there is more to this than modern media intrusiveness. The President is not just the elected leader of our country, he is, as presidential scholar Clinton Rossiter observed, "the one-man distillation of the American people," and "the personal embodiment and representative of their dignity and majesty," as President Taft once said. So when his personal conduct is embarrassing, it is so not just for him and his family. It is embarrassing for us all as Americans.
The President is also a role model, who, because of his prominence and the moral authority that emanates from his office, sets standards of behavior for the people he serves. His duty, as the Rev. Nathan Baxter of the National Cathedral here in Washington said in a recent sermon, is nothing less than the stewardship of our values. So no matter how much the President or others may wish to "compartmentalize" the different spheres of his life, the inescapable truth is that the President's private conduct can and often does have profound public consequences...
I have had many of those conversations in recent days, and from that I can conclude that many parents feel much as I do, that something very sad and sordid has happened in American life when I cannot watch the news on television with my ten-year-old daughter any more.
7. Terri Schiavo Case
Quote A:
The fact is that, though I know a lot of people's attitude toward the Schiavo case and other matters is affected by their faith and their sense of what religion tells them about morality, ultimately as members of Congress, as judges, as members of the Florida state Legislature, this is a matter of law. And the law exists to express our values.
I have been saying this in speeches to students about why getting involved in government is so important, I always say the law is where we define the beginning of life and the end of life, and that's exactly what was going on here. And I think as a matter of law, if you go--particularly to the 14th Amendment, can't be denied due process, have your life or liberty taken without due process of law, that though the Congress' involvement here was awkward, unconventional, it was justified to give this woman, more than her parents or husband, the opportunity for one more chance before her life was terminated by an act which was sanctioned by a court, by the state.
These are very difficult decisions, but--of course, if you ask me what I would do if I was the Florida Legislature or any state legislature, I'd say that if somebody doesn't have a living will and the next of kin disagree on whether the person should be kept alive or that is whether food and water should be taken away and her life ended that really the benefit of the doubt ought to be given to life. And the family member who wants to sustain her life ought to have that right because the judge really doesn't know, though he heard the facts, one judge, what Terri Schiavo wanted. He made a best guess based on the evidence before him. That's not enough when you're talking about aggressively removing food and water to end someone's life.
Quote B:
So then it came to, what do you do? Here is the U.S. Senate that normally does not and should not get involved in all of these private-action cases. It is not our primary responsibility here in the U.S. Senate. But with an exhaustion of a State legislature, an exhaustion of the court system in a State--yet all of this is based on what one judge had decided on what, at least initially, to me, looks like wrong data, incomplete data. But somebody is being condemned to death--somebody who is alive; there is no question she is alive--is being condemned to death.
It takes an action to pull out a feeding tube. It takes an action to stop feeding. The inaction of feeding becomes an action. And thus, as I started talking about it this morning, the question was, what do we do? Bills had been put forth broadly on the floor, and Senator Martinez had very effective legislation, but it had to do with the habeas corpus, a very large issue that we have not had hearings on and debated.
So what we decided to do was to fashion a bill that was very narrow, aimed specifically at this case that would say she is not going to be starved to death tomorrow, but let's go and collect more information, have neurologists come in and obtain a body of facts before such a decision would be made.
8. Presidential Censure
Quote A:
It is well within the Senate's constitutional prerogatives to adopt a resolution of censure expressing our contempt for the President's misconduct
Quote B:
[I]t would be an unproductive use of our time...Again, it's looking backward. It would be divisive.
BONUS QUESTIONS
Who said the following and to whom were they referring:
Quote A:
I have great respect for __. I don't agree with a lot of things he said in this campaign. He was a very distinguished ___, and I don't have anything negative to say about him.
Quote B:
The more Democratic voters learn about ___, the less likely they will be to support his candidacy. Democratic activists aren't exactly crying out for a nominee whose political résumé includes fundraising for George W. Bush, publicly praising a key Bush economic advisor, registering as a lobbyist before registering as a Democrat and voting more often for Republican candidates than Democratic ones.
Quote C:
We feel Washington already has enough Republicans like ___
Quote D:
"Isn't now the time for a change?"
DON'T PEEK!
Don't look at the answers until you read through the examples and demonstrated to yourself that Joe not only is not George Bush but doesn't sound at all like a Republican.
ANSWERS
1. Progress in Iraq
A. George Bush, June 2006 (from that same article: Bush's measured optimism is at odds with many crucial indicators in Iraq, including oil and electricity production, which are at no better than prewar levels, and the pace of sectarian violence. It also stands in stark contrast to the opinions of many Iraqi citizens, who have expressed growing pessimism about the course of events in their country as well as a growing antipathy toward the presence of U.S.-led coalition forces.
B. Lieberman, from debate with Lamont
2. Resoluteness in Iraq
A. Lieberman, from debate with Lamont
B. George Bush, 1st 2004 Debate with John Kerry
3.Challenging the President
A. Ollie North
B. Lieberman
4. Debate Technique
A. Ronald Reagan, to Jimmy Carter during 1980 Debate
B. Lieberman, from debate with Lamont
5. Social Security Privatization
A. Lieberman
B. Rick Santorum
6. Clinton Impeachment
A. Alan Keyes
B. Lieberman
7. Terri Schiavo Case
A. Lieberman
B. Bill Frist
8. Presidential Censure
Trick question: they are both from Lieberman
A. Censure in reference to Clinton.
B. Censure in refertence to Bush.
BONUS QUESTIONS
A. Lieberman, concerning Dick Cheney during their 2000 Vice-Presidnetial Debate.
B. Lieberman flyer, concerning Wes Clark.
C. Marion Steinfels, Lieberman spokesman concerning Ned Lamont.
D. Lieberman, concerning Lowell Weicker after serving 18 years in the Senate and losing touch with the values of Connecticut.
See, it was easy to tell Joe from the Republicans, right?
Shame on us rabid lambs for ever trying to suggest otherwise.