Gore will make history like JFK

Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, left, and Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., wave to the crowd gathered in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000, for a rally announcing Lieberman as Gore's running mate. (AP Photo)

NASHVILLE (AP) - Vice President Al Gore introduced and celebrated his Jewish running mate, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, likening their White House quest to Catholic groundbreaker John F. Kennedy's and declaring, "We will make history again."

Lieberman, in turn, credited Gore with barrier-busting "chutzpah" - the Yiddish word for audacity - and said they would work to "renew the moral center of this nation."

With repeated emphasis on faith and values, the new Democratic duo made clear Tuesday that they aim to replace the eight-year Clinton-Gore partnership with a fresh start.

Gore, soggy with sweat on an outdoor stage at noontime, recalled that the last time the Democrats had their national convention in Los Angeles - as they will again next week - they nominated Kennedy who went on to be elected the first Roman Catholic president.

With a Jew on a major party's national ticket for the first time, Gore said, "We will tear down an old wall of division again."

Tipper Gore, left, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, are joined on the stage by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn., and his wife Hadassah, right, in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000, for a rally announcing Lieberman as Gore's running mate. (AP Photo)

The crowd cheered "Joe! Joe!" From the stage, Tipper Gore snapped pictures with her camera. The heat and high humidity wore down the crowd, though most remained enthusiastic. More than 100 people were treated for heat exhaustion - five were hospitalized as a precaution.

Tuesday's talk of diversity, values and faith reflected the Democrats' determination to undercut Bush's inroads with minority voters and the Republicans' attempt - obvious at their national convention last week - to shackle Gore to President Bill Clinton and talk of scandal.

Lieberman, the two-term senator from Connecticut, was the first senator of either party to speak out on the Senate floor against President Clinton's affair with Monica Lewinsky, branding it "immoral."

On Tuesday, he acted as character witness for Gore. "He has never never wavered in his responsibilities as a father, as a husband, and, yes, as a servant of God," Lieberman said.

Democratic Presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore, left, high fives Sen. Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., during a rally in downtown Nashville, Tenn., Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2000, after announcing Lieberman as Gore's running mate on the Democratic ticket. (AP Photo)

The two men and their wives, hands linked, took the stage to a charging musical beat.

"We must work, and we will work - Al and Tipper, Hadassah and I - to help renew the moral center of this nation so that families can be stronger, children safer and parents empowered to pass to their children their faith and their moral values," Lieberman said.

His words echoed those of his September 1998 speech accusing Clinton of making it harder for parents to instruct children on values and acceptable behavior.

Dawn Varner of Etowah, who brought her daughter and grandson to the rally, said, "I wasn't sold before. But honey, I am sold 100 percent now. It was worth the five-hour drive." She said of Lieberman, "We needed him a long time ago."

Shedding his suit coat, the slightly built senator asked the crowd's permission "to let the spirit move me." He quoted from the Book of Chronicles and thanked God and Gore for "making this miracle possible for me in breaking this barrier for the rest of America forever."

Watching from behind a fence, Republican tourist Giovanni Santarsiere, 58, from Houston, grudgingly credited Gore for "breaking new ground" with the Lieberman pick but added, "I hope it doesn't help him."

Gore aides, though, reveled in some evidence that Lieberman already had helped. A CNN-USA Today-Gallup survey Monday night, after Lieberman's selection was publicized, showed Bush's lead cut to 2 points from 19 over the weekend.

A CNN pollster said it was much too soon to know how closely that change reflected longer-term reality. Gore campaign spokesman Chris Lehane acknowledged, "There's so much elasticity in these polls, but the fact that it bounced this way can only be interpreted as an affirmation and a positive response."

In Austin, Texas, Bush released a statement that referred to Lieberman's record supporting missile defense and tuition vouchers for private schools - positions more in line with Bush than Gore.