Today, our country is divided in two, and politics dominates every issue and discussion. Last year, we urged President Bush to appoint Sen. Joseph Lieberman as National Intelligence Director, a position he, as co-framer of the legislation that created that department and post, was eminently qualified to hold; today we urge the President to reach out and make Sen. Lieberman, former vice presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, the next Secretary of Defense.
Republicans and Democrats have often served together in times of national stress, the best example being Franklin Roosevelt’s wartime administration. President Lincoln’s war cabinet also brought together the two parties, and more recently, Republican Sen. William Cohen of Maine led the Defense Department for Bill Clinton.
Joseph Lieberman’s sound and reasoned understanding of who we are and what we are fighting for along with his courageous decision to express his opinion about our foreign policy in the face of opposition from segments of his own party makes him an outstanding candidate for this high office. We’ve always felt that Joseph Lieberman articulates the U.S. position on this war better than many in the administration, and that his strong voice from inside this administration would resonate with the American people in a way that it won’t in the Senate.
There’s no question that his appointment would be a strong statement to our friends and allies. It is clear too, what our enemies will take from this as well. Those who have rejoiced in our seeming irresolution would be foolish to ignore the determination and power of an America coming together. Our men and women on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan would draw sustenance from it and those who are disdainful of us, ambivalent, or worse, would have to think again about their opposition.
The Democratic Party of John Kennedy, Scoop Jackson and more recently Zell Miller, Sam Nunn and the Reagan Democrats, has to make its journey to our political center again. It is also incumbent upon George Bush and the Republican Party to reach out to make this happen. The center is the place where all Americans go when we are being threatened as we are today.
A Secretary of Defense named Joe Lieberman won’t solve all the country’s ills, but he would move our country closer to where it should be.
–nrg

Comments are closed.