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Talk Of Lieberman As Mr. Secretary
Hartford Courant ^
| November 17, 2004
| DAVID LIGHTMAN
Posted on 11/18/2004 10:37:18 AM PST by West Coast Conservative
Joe Lieberman respects the presidency and likes being wooed. And so, he said Tuesday, he's not ruling out a Bush Cabinet appointment.
"I am a traditionalist," the Connecticut Democratic senator said. "If the president ever calls, you'd have to consider it. But I am very happy to be in the Senate."
At the same time, said Lieberman, "I don't expect an offer, and I have no indications that it will happen."
There's no opening the door a crack in Washington; you're in the game or you're not. And while there's no firm - or even flimsy - signal from the Bush team with regard to Lieberman, there is talk among the connected class in Washington that he could be in the mix for several positions.
There's a certain logic to considering Lieberman to join the GOP team, because he was a strong backer of the Iraq war and Bush's faith-based initiatives.
The senator's position is a change of sorts from just 10 days ago, when rumors popped up that Lieberman could be considered for secretary of state.
His office scoffed at such reports and issued a firm denial, saying he was running for re-election to the Senate. "It's never gonna happen," said spokesman Rob Sawicki of the State Department idea.
Well, it didn't happen, but there could be other jobs available, and Lieberman's not ruling anything out.
The most logical post, sources say, is homeland security, where reports have current Secretary Tom Ridge stepping down soon. The department was largely Lieberman's brainchild. He pushed it even as a reluctant Bush White House tried to thwart him - and finally got it through Congress.
(Excerpt) Read more at ctnow.com ...
TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Connecticut
KEYWORDS: bush; cabinet; lieberman; ridge; rumsfeld; secretary; waronterror
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To: BlueNgold
Please ignore the typos. Trying to type quickly on a break.
61
posted on
11/18/2004 12:19:17 PM PST
by
BlueNgold
(Feed the Tree .....)
To: XJarhead; Howlin; SJackson; yonif
"Hmmm. Joe's a decent guy, and might be a good choice for Homeland Security. At the very least, the lightning rod for criticism would be a Democrat."I wouldn't rule it out.
62
posted on
11/18/2004 12:21:11 PM PST
by
Southack
(Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
To: comebacknewt
Longshot, but it's possible Rell might pick Nancy Johnson which is a big improvement over Shays.
To: West Coast Conservative
I respected Lieberman until he ratched up his rhetoric during the Democratic primary. He said some real hateful things about the Pres for political points...
64
posted on
11/18/2004 12:25:32 PM PST
by
traviskicks
(http://www.neoperspectives.com/summary.htm)
To: jim35
During the RAT convention I watched LIEberman on CSPIN, he was speaking to a small caucus somewhere in the convention center.
First thing out of his mouth was that the election was stolen.
He is garbage in my opinion.
65
posted on
11/18/2004 12:26:07 PM PST
by
OldFriend
(PRAY FOR POWERS EQUAL TO THE TASKS)
To: West Coast Conservative
The Dems are down 55-45 in Senate and would like to remove a liability in their ranks:)
66
posted on
11/18/2004 12:27:52 PM PST
by
Jumper
To: West Coast Conservative
How about Ambassador to UN?
I'd love to see an Orthodox Jew in that seat!!
To: OldFriend
I'm glad that some of us, at least, have not forgotten. Loserman is not worthy of a cabinet post.
68
posted on
11/18/2004 12:41:18 PM PST
by
jim35
(I'll bet Dasshole is Deeply Saddened now!!!)
To: BlueNgold
Yeah, but this would NOT be the right thing to do. How about rewarding a loyal Republican, instead of a fair-weather friend on the other side? We won the election. Putting a 'Rat on the team is not the right thing to do.
69
posted on
11/18/2004 12:43:32 PM PST
by
jim35
(I'll bet Dasshole is Deeply Saddened now!!!)
To: jim35
Not even worthy of cleaning the cabinets in the Bush White House.
70
posted on
11/18/2004 12:47:32 PM PST
by
OldFriend
(PRAY FOR POWERS EQUAL TO THE TASKS)
To: Uncledave
Lowell Weicker lives!
Chills the spine, don't it?
71
posted on
11/18/2004 12:59:33 PM PST
by
Snickersnee
(Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket???)
To: OldFriend; JohnnyZ
"He was a willing participant in the effort to disenfranchise the military vote in Florida."
You're turning the truth on its head. Lieberman actually spoke out against challenging military ballots, which got the Democrats really upset at him.
Lieberman is a liberal on most issues and I think he'd be terrible as Secretary of State or UN Ambassador. But if Rudy Giuliani doesn't want to head the Department of Homeland Security, I think Lieberman would be a good choice, especially since we would have a Republican Senator from CT at least until the 2006 elections.
72
posted on
11/18/2004 2:25:04 PM PST
by
AuH2ORepublican
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
To: AuH2ORepublican
LIEberman spoke out after the media asked him directly if he approved. He denied knowledge but then it was shown that he was at the meeting where the memo was discussed.
We don't call him LIEberman for nothing.
73
posted on
11/18/2004 2:33:58 PM PST
by
OldFriend
(PRAY FOR POWERS EQUAL TO THE TASKS)
To: comebacknewt; Uncledave; fieldmarshaldj
"We would likely see Sen. Chris Shays. Not ideal, but realistically, that is about the best we can hope for in CT."
If Rell picks any of the three GOP RINO Congressmen, she would risk having the Dems pick up the vacated House seat in a general election. This would be particularly likely in the case of Rob Simmons's CD, which only gave Bush 44.2% of the vote in 2004, but Bush's 46.3% in Shays's CD and 49.0% in Johnson's CD do not exactly project to a certain GOP hold.
Interestingly, then-Gov. Rowland said in early 2001 that if Lieberman had been elected VP he would have probably appointed Nancy Johnson as the new Senator. I agree with Uncledave that she would be less objectionable than über-RINO Chris Shays. Frankly, I don't know who would have the best chance of holding the Senate seat in a 2006 election, but perhaps Gov. Rell could name a non-incumbent, such as former Congressman Gary Franks, as a placeholder and then wait until 2006 for a better candidate to emerge.
74
posted on
11/18/2004 2:34:39 PM PST
by
AuH2ORepublican
(Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice, moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.)
To: West Coast Conservative
Not saying much, but Lieberman's certainly got more sense than Norm Mineta. Hope we get a new SoT this term...
To: Dienekes
I agree, have all the sane Democrats on the Republican side and leave all the crazies to run the party into the ground. Sounds like a plan to me!
76
posted on
11/18/2004 3:22:09 PM PST
by
Hildy
(The really great men are always simple and true)
To: jim35
Lieberman sold his soul during the campaign for 2000, I agree. I liked Lieberman before that, but he showed that he'd say or do anything to satisfy his own personal ambitions.
If W wants to name him to a Cabinet post as a sop to the Dems, he should pick a lesser one than director of homeland security. Maybe HHS or Transportation.
To: West Coast Conservative
Don't do it, Mr. President.
78
posted on
11/18/2004 3:36:18 PM PST
by
gitmo
(Thanks, Mel. I needed that.)
To: West Coast Conservative
Again, I will never forget that Lieberman went along with throwing out the military ballots in 2000. NEVER.
79
posted on
11/18/2004 3:38:42 PM PST
by
ladyinred
(Congratulations President Bush! Four more years!)
To: West Coast Conservative
How about "Secretary of Changing Positions When Running For VP"?
80
posted on
11/18/2004 3:40:06 PM PST
by
Fledermaus
(Are we a nation divided? Yes. Is it Red-Blue? No. It's the Sane vs. the Insane Left!!!!!)
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