Guest Blog- Lieberman’s Moment was Ours
Ira N. Forman — January 27, 2011 – 12:15 pm | Congress | Democrats Comments (2) Add a commentOriginally Published in The Forward’s Forum on Senator Joe Lieberman and His Legacy
American politicians recognized the importance of the Jewish vote more than 100 years ago. Yet it wasn’t until Al Gore selected Joseph Lieberman to be his running mate that we truly came of age politically.
Before Lieberman, there was a lingering sense that it was not “good for the Jews” for a landsman to be too visible on the political stage. Many felt that a Jew would never have a shot at winning national office.
One day in August of 2000 changed everything. The feeling was electric. Weeks went by and there were no mobs of anti-Semites. For a while Joe Lieberman was the face of American Jewry.
Then the Supreme Court decided there would be no Vice President Lieberman. And many Democrats grew disillusioned with Lieberman over his support for the Iraq War and for John McCain’s presidential candidacy.
Still, the significance of that moment remains. It forever transformed the way that Jews feel about our place in American society.
Ira N. Forman is the former CEO of the National Jewish Democratic Council. The views expressed in this post are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the National Jewish Democratic Council.
Comments
Jean-Pierre Fenyo…you are right. We lost the opportunity of a first Jewish Vice President but we have made progress in other ways and fields.
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I was in the thick of the 2000 Elections. Right in the heart of my birthplace; Washington, DC. And I was very excited by the prospect of having Senator Joseph Lieberman be our first Jewish Vice-President! It was obvious that Vice-President Al Gore was truly invested in the proposition that America could finally break free from its fossil-fuel addiction and all the miseries that have come with it! I think what must have happened to Joe was that he panicked, like many of my fellow Jews; because, unless you’ve had the opportunity to meet the better elements of the Arab Muslim world, 9-11 was such a shock and seemed to confirm the worst suspicions. I agree with my fellow Democrat Ira N. Forman: we must always treasure that magnificently euphoric and meaningful moment! May we strive for Reasoned Thinking, even at those times when our first impulses might be to abandon our will and ability to trust the goodness that surely must be within most of our fellow Citizens of The World!