No Mensch
Earlier I related Bill Richardson’s anecdote proving that, whatever his virtues and faults, Obama is a mensch. I had that sense reinforced recently, when Eileene called this video clip to my attention. Obama is an inspiring speaker when he needs to be, but I appreciate more that he is a thoughtful speaker when he chooses to be. His strong religious convictions were one of the things I liked least about him, but a speech like this puts me much more at ease: “We are a nation of varying religious beliefs, and it is well that we should be. I am a religious man. But we must not govern by religious conviction, nor will I.” A very different expression from Kennedy’s famous speech reassuring voters that his Catholicism was no threat to American values, and directed against challenges from a very different direction, but the same sentiment—one I hold dear, and spoken in a way that puts me at ease. Obama is a mensch.
Contrast this to Joe Lieberman’s behavior of late. Nominally, he has been a Democrat throughout his career. Nominally. Lieberman doesn’t place much stock in such inconveniences like labels and party and human decency. Before he ran alongside Al Gore on the 2000 democratic ticket, I knew of him mostly for his anti-abortion attitude and his belief that video games are a satanic menace to the souls of the nation’s youth, much more deserving of the Senate’s attention than more urgent, more material threats. That and bringing home the bacon to corporate sponsors. In the 2000 run, Lieberman didn’t contribute much, and seemed almost happy to lose, immediately leaving the election behind to get back to the Senate—remember? Since then, he’s supported military adventurism (It’s okay; they’re only Muslims), smiled upon turning our national security apparatus loose on the citizenry generally, free from distractions like warrants and prohibitions on torture, and fought to defend the imperial presidency, sabotaging any Congressional effort to reinstate accountability. An all-‘round Bush-loving kind of guy.
Toppled by a more properly Democratic challenger in the primary for the 2006 election, he chose to run as an independent, won, and, unrestrained any longer by even a nominal commitment to the Democrats, has become quite the Republican apologist. The Democrats put up with it because they need to maintain their 1-head majority, and certain perks that go with it, but the writing is on the wall. Sensing that he has obliterated the last shred of good will from his former party, and sensing that his career is doomed without Republican support, this “independent” has proven willing to do anything to get it. He’s appeared more visibly beside McCain than any Republican; maybe he’s fishing for a veep role he can believe in. As part of his McCain endorsement, he’s turned to attack Obama. Disturbing in light of