On Countdown this evening, Keith covered the Obama/Lieberman confrontation on the Senate floor Wednesday. They played a loop showing Obama and Lieberman shaking hands, and then Obama leading a reluctant Lieberman off camera range. And suddenly, a violent shudder went down my spine, as I realized, but for a stolen election, I could be seeing the next President of the United States...
And I don't mean Barak Obama. In an alternate universe somewhere, Joe Lieberman is our nominee for President of the United States.
Think about it. The Supreme Court of the United States refuses to intervene in the November 2000 Florida recount. Al Gore surges ahead of George W. Bush in the recount, and Katherine Harris reluctantly certifies Gore as the winner, and the President of the United States.
In August 2001, alerted by a briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the United States", Gore orders enhanced security at all airports, and 19 terrorists are apprehended before they can hijack four domestic airline flights.
Gore takes steps to pull the country out of an economic downturn, continues to pay down the national debt, and takes decisive action to move the country off mid-eastern oil and adress global warming. Gore wins in a landslide re-election in 2004. In his second term, bolstered by gains in the house and senate, which the Democrats now control, Gore gets a national health plan established, renegotiates NAFTA, and cuts the military budget by 20 percent.
In March 2007, Vice President Joe Lieberman, who has dutifully carried out every assignment given to him by President Gore, declares himself a candidate for President.
Lieberman, although a lackluster campaigner, has Gore's wholehearted support, and beats back challenges by former first lady Hillary Clinton, former Senator John Edwards, and New Mexico Governer Bill Richardson. A realatively unkoown Senator from Illinois drops out after Iowa.
Vice President Lieberman faces Senator John McCain, who after unsucessful runs at the Republican nomination in 2000 and 2004, finally gets the nod.
Somewhere, in some alternate universe, Joe Lieberman our nominee for President of the United States. Maybe things happen for a purpose after all.