The American Spectator

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Lieberman — that’s the ticket, all right. More like a suicide pact. Has everyone forgotten that Lieberman plighted his troth to Al Gore in the not too distant past? Of course, it turned out that Gore jilted him, but from August till November, we would still be treated to MSM analyses of Lieberman’s opportunism, as he clings to and continues to pledge his allegiance to the Democratic Party.

p>Running mate to Al Gore seems a hard thing to live down to me. Lieberman’s selection makes about as much sense as offering it to Hillary or Harry Reid as an olive branch. br> — Diane Smith /p>

In the past few days, we’ve read reports to the effect that Senator McCain is saying to himself, “Hmm… I wonder how it would go over if I picked a pro-abortion vice-president. Or perhaps a Democrat.”

These are all rumors, of course. But the problem here is that, given the nature of the man, they’re highly believable rumors. Until we know just whose name his flying fickle finger will land on, Republicans must brace themselves for McCain to actually choose Lieberman or Ridge.

Perhaps McCain is heeding wiser counsels in the party and the vox populi, saying to himself, “Wow! I guess I’d better not go there!” But the fact that he needs to be talked or shouted out of choosing Lieberman or Ridge is just mind-boggling. And if someone else’s better judgment prevails over him this time, you have to wonder what this guy will do next. Allen Drury himself could not have invented the 2008 Republican presidential campaign.

p>There once was a time, ‘way back in the 20th Century, when rumors of a GOP presidential candidate selecting an avowedly pro-abortion VP would have been summarily dealt with thusly — “Get real!” End of rumor. But the 20th century was a long time ago, I guess. br> — Byron Keith /p>

Despite being a conservative, I have no problem with a McCain-Lieberman ticket for one over-riding reason: conservatism is first and foremost about having moral principles. Without that foundation, conservatism is no better than the “politics first, country second,” ideology that informs modern-day liberalism. Joe Lieberman is one of the few politicians who puts the country ahead of his personal ambition.

p>Considering the current state of Congress, statesmanship — despite ideological differences — should be encouraged, not scorned.