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Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) said Sunday Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is not ready to be president, and Sen. John McCain’s ads from this past week were merely trying to illustrate that point. Lieberman, appearing on “Meet the Press” with 2004 Democratic nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.), said the Arizona Republican’s ad this week featuring pop celebrities Paris Hilton and Britney Spears was “cute” and it raises the question of Obama’s (D-Ill.) readiness to be president.
“This is a good young man,” Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee, said. “Is he ready to lead or as ready as John McCain? The answer is no.” Kerry responded that the ad was unfair and unnecessary, arguing that instead of raising legitimate questions the Republicans are “engaged in character assassination.” “That’s an ad that plays to the worst instincts in America and that is to diminish someone’s character,” Kerry said. The 2004 nominee added that the ad represents a “complete contradiction in John McCain,” arguing that the presumptive GOP nominee has reversed himself on his pledge to run a respectful campaign. Lieberman conceded that Obama’s stated belief that the McCain campaign is trying to paint him as “risky” is an accurate observation, but he said he was offended that Obama would suggest that race was a factor in that strategy as he was accused of doing at a campaign stop last week. The Obama campaign is rejecting that charge. Lieberman, who caucuses with Democrats and is the reason they have the Senate majority, has broken with his former party on national security and has irked Democrats by forcefully backing McCain. The Connecticut Independent also continued to play somewhat coy about whether he’ll speak at the Republican convention later this summer, saying “that decision hasn’t been made.” “We’ll see,” he added. |
