|
MANCHESTER, N.H. -- Joe Lieberman is always traveling with the ghost of 2000.
But as he crisscrosses key 2004 primary states in search of money, friends and ultimately votes, it's unclear if the legacy of the last election is wind beneath his wings or the weight he can never shake.
Either way, he cannot escape the shadow of the 2000 contest many believe he won and others got bored with long ago.
"It's hard to determine the prevailing feeling," said Manchester, N.H., Democratic Chairman Raymond Buckley.
Lieberman tries to have it both ways. He brings up 2000 while insisting he's something new and different.
But no matter how fresh he looks and sounds, the Connecticut Democrat is inexorably bound to former Vice President Al Gore, whom many Democrats believe should have won the 2000 race easily. They are reluctant to see Gore run again, and want a new face and new answers to the persistent old questions.
"Gore has used up his chances," said Beth Campbell, a Concord labor union organizer. "It never should have come down to Florida."
Now, she said, "it seems people are looking for somebody new." That's why, she said, they are looking carefully at Sens. John Edwards of North Carolina or John Kerry of Massachusetts.
At a house party in Rye Beach, party activist Michael King asked Lieberman whether he would repeal the 2001 tax cut championed by President Bush.
Lieberman said he would consider rolling back the cuts given to the wealthiest taxpayers, but also noted Bush has pledged a veto of any repeal.
But he also recalled speeches he made during the 2000 campaign about how to responsibly spend the budget surplus. "I've gone back and read the old campaign speeches. They held up pretty well," Lieberman said.
King was not impressed. "I don't think he answered my question," he said. "You can't just blame George W. Bush for the [budget] problem."
At the same time, there is also a strong undercurrent of respect and even admiration for Lieberman, and it's clear that 2000 is giving him momentum and a star quality he never would have had.
People in campaign crowds routinely appreciate his good humor and patience when answering questions, and his willingness to work hard this early in the 2004 cycle. In one day, he made five major stops from Rye Beach and Portsmouth on the seacoast to Manchester and Concord in the central part of the state.
The following day, a Monday, he did two more events, one in Manchester and one in Nashua, before heading back to work in the Senate. This Monday, he has five stops in South Carolina, an early primary state.
He has no trouble drawing crowds and media attention. "He gained a lot of stature because of his run for vice president," said New Hampshire state Sen. Sylvia Larsen. "He may have a better shot than most."
But Lieberman is likely to find a problem that virtually all who have run before have found: He is the prisoner of his previous campaign.
"A lot of people felt he changed his views on the issues too quickly," said J. Mark Wrighton, assistant professor of political science at the University of New Hampshire. Lieberman was criticized in some circles for acquiescing to Gore on a number of issues where they disagreed.
One was school vouchers - Lieberman has supported experimental programs; Gore is against vouchers. Lieberman also went to Hollywood to raise money from and lavishly praise the same people he has railed against for years because of what he calls excessive sex and violence in the entertainment industry.
The perception that Lieberman too easily changes his views has come up during and since the 2000 election at many stops. In San Francisco last year, for instance, a questioner at a forum asked the senator about his shifting stances.
"That's a nasty rumor spread by the opposition," Lieberman replied, laughing.
He quickly got serious, though, explaining that in a campaign, "The tone and substance is set by the presidential candidate, and [Gore and I] agree on almost everything."
That tie to his benefactor, said Wrighton, can easily be used against Lieberman by his opponents.. It hurt previous Democratic vice presidents and candidates who tried to run on their own.
No matter how much Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, Edmund Muskie, Walter Mondale and Gore tried to carve out independent personas, they were always seen as loyal, sometimes too loyal lieutenants. But like Lieberman, all were able to become front-runners, or at least be viewed seriously, in part because of their tie to the top of the ticket.
Lieberman may have an advantage - that feeling in some quarters that Gore and Lieberman were robbed of victory in 2000. Lieberman often reminds audiences of it.
"I have good memories of every part of it [the 2000 election] till the end," he told the Rye Beach group, stressing how important it is that everyone turn out to vote.
"If one person stands before you to show the impact of one vote or group of voters," Lieberman said, "I'm it."
Lieberman himself sees 2000 as a net plus. "Running for vice president gave me a level of recognition I wouldn't have had otherwise," he said. "My favorable/unfavorable numbers among Democrats are still good, and I think I'm still associated with what Democrats felt was an unfair ending to the election."
And so he walks the tightrope between being something old and something new. At a fire station in Manchester, for instance, Lieberman watched a demonstration of new thermal imaging technology and sat with firefighters to hear their concerns about getting federal dollars more directly to fire officials.
When Lieberman recalled meeting with Florida firefighters in 2000 and their interest in the stock market, the Manchester firefighters steered the conversation back to their need for money - a clear change in priorities since the last time Lieberman ran for national office.
Lieberman seemed to get what he sought from the visit, a feeling for local issues and a warm feeling from the audience.
"He has a lot of experience," said Lt. Ron Cushing. "He seems to know New Hampshire. Right now, I'd say he, and Gore, have a big edge."
But they haven't met the fresh faces yet, the ones who are untethered to memories of an ugly election.
"Lieberman gets more attention because he ran for vice president," said King. "But no one can tell you there's a favorite at this stage."
|
