Lieberman Joins Gore to ‘Make History Again’

Making their debut as running mates, Al Gore and Joseph I. Lieberman vowed Tuesday to expand America’s prosperity, renew its “moral center” and lead the way toward a more tolerant society.

At a spirited midday rally in downtown Nashville, the vice president formally introduced the two-term Connecticut senator--and the first Jew ever chosen for a major party ticket--as a close personal friend and political soul mate who shares his values and vision.

“Joe and I come from different regions and different religious faiths. But we believe in a common set of ideals,” Gore told several thousand enthusiastic supporters who braved a near-100-degree heat.

“Together, we’re going to take this ticket from Nashville, Tenn., today to Los Angeles, Calif., next week and all the way across America to the White House this November,” Gore said.

The vice president likened the presence of an Orthodox Jew on the Democratic ticket to that of a Roman Catholic, John F. Kennedy, as the party’s standard-bearer in 1960.

“That year, we voted with our hearts to make history by tearing down a mighty wall of division. We made history,” Gore said. “And when we nominate Joe Lieberman for vice president, we will make history again. We will tear down an old wall of division once again!”

Gore and Lieberman are scheduled to be nominated at the Democratic convention that starts Monday in Los Angeles and continues through Aug. 17.

Striking an unusually personal note, a clearly moved Lieberman hailed Gore’s “courage and character” in putting an Orthodox Jew on the Democratic ticket.”

“It is Al Gore who broke this barrier,” Lieberman said. “It shows his faith in the tolerance of this diverse nation, and in the basic fairness of the American people.”

Then Lieberman joked: “Some might even call it an act of chutzpah.”

As the Democratic candidates stood on stage, and then worked the crowd after their speeches, they were accompanied by their ebullient wives--striking a picture of energy and dynamism not unlike the one that energized Democrats in 1992, when the Gores joined Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton.

One difference between now and then, however, is that the Gores and Liebermans are genuine friends of long standing--whereas the relationship between the Clintons and the Gores was a friendship of political convenience forged more for imagery than based on reality.

The Democratic rally here also was a sharp contrast to the counterpart GOP event last month when Republican nominee George W. Bush introduced Dick Cheney as his running mate. That event took place in a small room in a sports arena, attended by several hundred invited guests--who were nearly outnumbered by reporters. Each candidate spoke briefly and then left.

On Tuesday, there were at least two harbingers of how the Democratic ticket--and Campaign 2000--may be unlike any other.

As he opened his remarks, Lieberman launched into a prayer, as Gore nodded approvingly.

“Dear friends, I am so full of gratitude at this moment I ask you to allow me to let the spirit move me, as it does, to remember the words from Chronicles, which are ‘to give thanks to God and declare His name and make His acts known to the people, to be glad of spirit; to sing to God and make music to God, and most of all, to give glory and gratitude to God, from whom all blessings truly do flow.’ ”

Lieberman concluded: “Dear Lord, maker of all miracles, I thank you for bringing me to this extraordinary moment in my life. . . . “

At that point, Tipper Gore, the vice president’s wife, started chanting: “Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe.” The crowd quickly joined in.

The Connecticut senator spoke in almost Rabbinic cadence, referring to the audience as “dear friends” and in calling Monday, when he received the news, “a miracle day.”

Lieberman vowed to work with the Gores “to help renew the moral center of this nation so that families can be stronger, children safer and parents empowered to pass to their children their faith and their moral values.”

Earlier, Hadassah, Lieberman’s wife, spoke movingly about the rally’s site--a public square that is a war memorial to America’s veterans.

She said the venue held special meaning for her because her mother was rescued by American GIs after being interned at Auschwitz and Dachau, and her father is a survivor of Nazi camps.

“So I stand before you very deeply, sincerely thankful that I am an American. . . ,” Hadassah Lieberman said. “Whether you and your family immigrated from Europe, Africa, Mexico, Latin America or Asia, I am standing here for you! This country is our country!”

The Gores and the Liebermans have been friends for almost 15 years, having dined often at one another’s homes. The Liebermans also attended the 1997 wedding of Karenna Gore, the couple’s eldest daughter.

On Monday night, after arriving in Nashville, Lieberman--along with his wife; his mother, Marcia; his 13-year-old daughter, Hana; his son Matt; and Matt’s wife, April--joined the Gores for a two-hour private dinner in the Gores’ hotel suite.

During the day Monday, Gore officials called key Democratic leaders to encourage their support for the new ticket and assuage some concerns about Lieberman’s record. Reaching out to the African American community, Lieberman himself called the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

At the rally Tuesday, the warmth between the couples was clearly evident.

The Gores and Liebermans came out together, arms around each other, beaming as they waved and blew kisses to the crowd.

Quickly, the men discarded their suit jackets. Throughout the rally, the four exchanged innumerable handshakes, hugs and backslaps. And the men repeatedly punched the air with their fists.

Late Tuesday, the Gore-Lieberman campaign announced that Tipper Gore and Hadassah Lieberman are to make a joint appearance Thursday night in Toledo, Ohio.

In Austin, Texas, Gov. Bush expressed the hope that Lieberman will “run a positive campaign and that the vice president will use this opportunity to change his tone to that of Sen. Lieberman’s level.”

Noting also that Gore and Lieberman have differences on several key issues, Bush added: “This selection now presents the vice president with an interesting test of whether he will continue attacking positions his running mate shares or whether he will lift up our nation by elevating the tone of his presidential campaign.”

In Nashville, however, Lieberman mockingly refuted Bush’s characterization that many of his views are closer to Bush’s than Gore’s.

“There is a difference,” Lieberman said as he borrowed a favorite Gore joke: “That’s like saying that the veterinarian and the taxidermist are in the same business--because, either way, you get your dog back.”

Many in the audience later said they liked what they had heard.

“I think he [Gore] showed courage in picking someone of the Jewish religion,” said Chuck Collier, 55, a Vermont resident visiting Nashville on vacation. “We have one country united, and we’re a diverse country. It’s important that we start recognizing that diversity.”

The enthusiastic reception here for Gore and Lieberman left the vice president clearly buoyed by the possibility that he is finally building some momentum going into the convention in Los Angeles.

And one survey conducted by USA Today-CNN-Gallup Poll showed that the Democratic ticket has narrowed Bush’s double-digit lead from 19 points to just two points in the wake of Lieberman’s selection.

That poll of 667 registered voters was conducted Monday night, after Lieberman’s selection had been widely reported throughout the day. It had the GOP ticket leading at just 45% to 43%.

Also on Tuesday, the United Auto Workers endorsed Gore, choosing to overlook its disagreement with the vice president about his support for normal trade relations with China. The UAW--with 1.3 million members, mostly in battleground states of the industrial Midwest--had threatened earlier to back Green Party candidate Ralph Nader.

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Times staff writer Maria L. La Ganga in Austin, Texas, contributed to this story.