Gore takes Jewish running mate to close gap

Vice-President Al Gore, the Democrat contender for the United States Presidency, is hoping to close a widening gap with his Republican…

Vice-President Al Gore, the Democrat contender for the United States Presidency, is hoping to close a widening gap with his Republican rival, Governor George Bush, by choosing a Jewish vice-presidential running mate. It is the first time a Jewish candidate has stood at this level for a major American party.

Senator Joseph Lieberman (58), of Connecticut, an Orthodox Jew, will help to distance Mr Gore from President Clinton's affair with Ms Monica Lewinsky, as he was the first senior party figure to publicly criticise the President's "immoral" behaviour. Mr Lieberman is called "the conscience of the Senate" for his insistence on high standards.

Mr Gore, who is 17 points behind Mr Bush in the latest poll, offered Mr Lieberman the No 2 spot on the Democratic ticket in a telephone call at midday yesterday, but the news had leaked out earlier.

As he pulled up at his house in Hartford, Connecticut, with a mobile phone to his ear, Mr Lieberman said to journalists: "That was the call. It was directly from Al Gore." He added: "We said a short prayer together."

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Mr Gore will formally announce his choice today in Nashville, Tennessee, with Mr Lieberman at his side.

President Clinton, who was golfing at Martha's Vineyard, praised Mr Lieberman as "one of the most outstanding figures in public life". But two years ago Mr Lieberman gave Mr Clinton one of his worst moments when he denounced his affair with Ms Lewinsky in a Senate speech while the President was in Dublin during his last Irish visit.

Mr Lieberman harshly criticised Mr Clinton, who had earlier admitted to "inappropriate" behaviour with Ms Lewinsky. Mr Lieberman said it was not just inappropriate. "It is immoral. And it is harmful, for it sends a message of what is acceptable behaviour to the larger American family, particularly to our children."

The fact that Mr Lieberman, who was seen as a good friend of Mr Clinton, should make a public criticism at a difficult time for the beleaguered President shocked the White House. But Mr Lieberman later voted against finding Mr Clinton guilty of perjury.

Political observers now say that the choice of Mr Lieberman will "inoculate" Mr Gore from Republican attempts to damage him for staying loyal to Mr Clinton and for praising him as "one of the greatest presidents ever" on the day he was impeached on charges of perjury over the Lewinsky affair.

Mr Gore is already being praised for ignoring possible anti-Semitic sentiment by choosing Mr Lieberman, whose faith does not allow him to campaign during the period of the Jewish sabbath lasting 24 hours from sunset on Friday. The last time religion was an issue in a presidential election was in 1960, when President Kennedy became the first Catholic to be elected to the White House.

But prejudice against a possible Jewish president has virtually disappeared among US voters, according to recent polls. Over 90 per cent say they would not object to a Jewish president who was capable of doing the job. About 60 years ago only 42 per cent gave this answer.

Mr Lieberman is ending his second term in the Senate and was certain of being re-elected in November. He said yesterday he was sure his voting record would be searched for issues on which he disagreed with Mr Gore but added: "Al Gore and I have pretty much walked the same path, and where we've had disagreements, they've been goodfaith disagreements."

The Bush campaign has pointed to issues such as education and the privatisation of social security, where it claims Mr Lieberman is closer to Mr Bush than to Mr Gore.