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U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT) DELIVERS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH AT DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
CAMPAIGN 2000: SENATOR LIEBERMAN DELIVERS ACCEPTANCE SPEECH
AT THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION
AUGUST 16, 2000
SPEAKER: U.S. SENATOR JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D-CT),
VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
LIEBERMAN: Thank you friends.
AUDIENCE: Joe. Joe. Joe.
LIEBERMAN: Thank you. Thank you very much. God bless you.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you so very much.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you, Jenny (ph).
(APPLAUSE)
Is America a great country or what?
(APPLAUSE)
Yes it is. God bless America, land that we love.
(APPLAUSE)
Dear friends, 10 days ago, with courage and with friendship, Al
Gore asked me to be his running mate.
(APPLAUSE)
And I don't have to tell you that this has been a most
extraordinary week for my family and me. There's an old saying that
behind every successful man there's a surprised mother-in-law.
(LAUGHTER)
Well...
(APPLAUSE)
Well, I can tell you, that this week, that's been particularly
true.
(LAUGHTER)
I want to thank the daughter of my mother-in-law. The woman who
just introduced me.
(APPLAUSE)
Isn't she great?
(APPLAUSE)
Hadassah, even before Al Gore made me his running mate, you made
me the luckiest guy in the world.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: I am so fortunate to have you by my side on this
journey. And I thank you, sweetheart, for everything you mean to me.
(APPLAUSE)
That miraculous journey begins here and now. Tonight I am so
proud to stand as your candidate for vice president of the United
States.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Joe. Joe. Joe. Joe. Joe.
LIEBERMAN: Only in America, right? Only in America.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: We want Joe. We want Joe. We want Joe.
LIEBERMAN: Thank you, dear friends.
I am humbled by this nomination and so grateful to Al Gore for
choosing me. And I want you to know tonight that I will work my heart
out to make Al Gore the next president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: As I stand here before you tonight, blessed to have
the opportunity I have, I know that we have become the America that so
many of our parents dreamed for us.
But the great question this year is what will we dream for our
country, and how will we make it come true?
We who gather here tonight believe, as Al Gore has said, that
it's not just the size of our national feast that's important, no, but
the number of people we can fit around the table. There must be room
for everybody.
(APPLAUSE)
As every faith teaches us -- as every faith teaches us and as
presidents from Lincoln to Roosevelt to Reagan to Clinton have
reminded us, we must, as Americans, try to see our nation not just
through our eyes, but through the eyes of others.
In my life, I've seen the goodness of this great country through
many sets of eyes. I've seen it through the eyes of my grandmother.
She was raised in Central Europe, in a village where she was often
harassed just because of the way she worshipped God. And then she
emigrated to America.
LIEBERMAN: On Saturdays, she used to walk to synagogue, and her
Christian neighbors would pass her and say, "Good Sabbath, Mrs. Manger
(ph)." Well, it was a source of endless delight and gratitude for her
that here in this country she was accepted for who she was.
(APPLAUSE)
And I've seen America through the eyes of my parents, Henry and
Marcia Lieberman. My dad lived in an orphanage when he was a child.
He went on to work on a bakery truck and then owned a package store in
Stamford, Connecticut. He taught my sisters and me the importance of
work and responsibility. With my mother by his side, he saw me become
the first person in my family to graduate from college.
My mom is here tonight.
(APPLAUSE)
Mom is 85 years old, but I'll tell you, she never felt younger
than she feels today.
(APPLAUSE)
Mom, thank you, I love you. And you and I know how proud Pop
would be tonight.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you, Mom.
LIEBERMAN: Yes, we do love you, Mom.
(APPLAUSE)
And I've also tried to see America through the eyes of people
I've been privileged to know. In the early 1960s, when I was a
college student, I walked with Martin Luther King in the march on
Washington for jobs and freedom.
(APPLAUSE)
That was my honor. That was my opportunity.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: And later that fall, I went to Mississippi where we
worked to register African-Americans to vote.
(APPLAUSE)
The people I met never forgot that in America every time a
barrier is broken, the doors of open opportunity go wider for every
single one of us. And I know that in a very personal way tonight.
(APPLAUSE)
And I've tried to see America through the eyes of families who
had the deck stacked against them, but fought back.
As Connecticut's attorney general, I worked to be the people's
lawyer. I went after polluters who were spoiling our water and our
air.
(APPLAUSE)
I stood with single moms to go after deadbeat dads.
(APPLAUSE)
And you know what? We even sued oil companies who were trying to
gouge consumers at the pump.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Go Joe. Go Joe. Go Joe.
LIEBERMAN: And -- thank you. Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Go Joe. Go Joe. Go Joe.
LIEBERMAN: We're going to go, right to the White House for a
better America.
AUDIENCE: Go Joe, go. Go Joe, go. Go Joe, go.
LIEBERMAN: I've also seen America through the eyes of my wife
and her parents. By now, most of you probably know Hadassah's story.
Her family was literally saved by the greatest generation of American
GIs who liberated the concentration camps.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: We could never express our gratitude enough to them.
And then her parents escaped communism and were welcomed as
immigrants to America and given a new life here. The fact that half a
century later their daughter would be standing on this stage is a
testament to the continuing power of the American dream.
(APPLAUSE)
And in my life -- in my life I have also tried to see this world
through the eyes of those who have suffered discrimination. And
that's why I believe that the time has come to tear down the remaining
walls of discrimination in this nation, walls of discrimination based
on race and gender and sexual orientation.
(APPLAUSE)
And we will. Together we will.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
And that also...
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
And that also is why I continue to say, when it comes to
affirmative action, mend it but please don't end it.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: You know when we see the world through the other --
through the eyes of other people, you understand that the smallest
changes can make the biggest differences in all of our lives. That's
something I'm really sorry to say I don't think our Republican friends
really understand.
(APPLAUSE)
You know they're fond of dismissing the achievements -- the
extraordinary achievements of the past eight years. But I'll tell you
at the end of the day, the people I talk with, the real people on the
street, tell me that their lives are a lot better than they were eight
years ago...
(APPLAUSE)
... and they want it to continue.
(APPLAUSE)
They want the prosperity to continue.
Thank you.
Our opponents are decent and they are likable men. I'm proud to
call many in their party my friends. But America must understand
there are very real differences between us in this election.
Two weeks ago, our Republican friends actually tried to walk and
talk a lot like us.
(LAUGHTER)
LIEBERMAN: Did you notice? Yeah.
(APPLAUSE)
Well, let's be honest about this. We may be near Hollywood
tonight, but not since Tom Hanks won an Oscar has there been that much
acting in Philadelphia.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
It's the truth.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go.
LIEBERMAN: You bet. I'm going to keep going.
Now look, I'm glad that the GOP has changed their rhetoric. But,
you know what? I wish they'd also change their policies.
(APPLAUSE)
As my dear friend John McCain might say -- and let me say, great
man John McCain, you are in our prayers here in this hall tonight.
(APPLAUSE)
You're a great fighter, and you're going to win the fight you're
waging now.
As John McCain might say, "Let me do a little straight talking
right now."
LIEBERMAN: You know, I think it's a good thing that our opponent
talks about the environment. But I'm sad to say that in Texas, the
quality of the air and water is some of the worst in America.
We see the environment through a different set of eyes. For more
than 20 years, Al Gore has been a leader in protecting our
environment.
(APPLAUSE)
And I promise you that we will continue the work that he and I
have done together to keep our air, water and land clean. We're going
to work to make sure that a child can drink a glass of water, a father
can fish in a stream and a family can go to a park without having to
worry that their health or safety is at risk. I make you that promise
tonight.
(APPLAUSE)
And look, it's a good thing that our opponent is talking about
health care. But I'm sad to say that Texas is also falling behind on
that. You know, Texas led the nation in the percentage of residents
who did not have insurance. And today, it ranks next to last for
health insurance for both women and children.
We see health care with a different set of eyes.
LIEBERMAN: We know that health care is one of the most important
problems facing America's family today. We believe that medical
decisions should be made doctors, not bureaucrats.
(APPLAUSE)
We believe that -- we believe that senior citizens should not be
stopped from filling a prescription in this great country of ours
because they can't afford to pay for it. And I tell you tonight that
Al Gore and I are the only candidates in this race who will extend
access to health care coverage to every single child in America.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go.
LIEBERMAN: And, you know, I think it's a good thing also that
our opponent talks about education. Schools need to be held to the
highest standards of performance and accountability. But I'm sad to
say that their plan just doesn't provide the resources our schools
need to meet those high standards.
You know, sometimes it seems to me like their idea of school
modernization means buying a new calendar for every school building.
(LAUGHTER)
LIEBERMAN: We see education through a very different set of
eyes. We are committed to making America's public schools the very
best in the world. We're committed...
(APPLAUSE)
We're going to target more education funding to the schools that
need it most to rebuild and modernize our crumbling classrooms, and to
provide all of our children -- all of God's children, with the skills
they need to succeed in the 21st century.
(APPLAUSE)
And my friends, we're going to do one other thing that our
Republican friends will simply not do. We're going to treat the
people who teach our children like the professionals that they are.
(APPLAUSE)
No one does a more important job in our country today than a good
teacher of our children.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, look...
AUDIENCE: Joe. Joe. Joe.
LIEBERMAN: ... look, in the end...
AUDIENCE: Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go.
LIEBERMAN: Thank you. Thank you.
In the end, this is a question of priorities. This is a question
of priorities and choices. Our opponents want to use America's hard-
earned surplus to give a tax break to those who need it least at the
expense of all of our other needs.
LIEBERMAN: Under their plan, the middle class gets a little and
the wealthy get an awful lot.
As a matter of fact, their tax plan operates under that old
theory that the best way to feed the birds is to give more oats to the
horse.
(LAUGHTER)
Think about that.
(APPLAUSE)
We see -- we see America's hard-earned surplus through a very
different set of eyes, the eyes of working middle-class families. We
want to use America's hard-earned success to preserve the future of
Social Security and Medicare, to pay off our national debt, to cut the
taxes of middle class families. We want to make the investments that
will keep our economy moving forward.
My friends, it is this simple. We Democrats will expand the
prosperity. They will squander it.
(APPLAUSE)
And let me say one other thing about the difference between our
parties in this election. This party will reform our campaign finance
laws. Because it's only Al Gore, and not George Bush, who will send
the McCain-Feingold bill to Congress and sign it when it's passed.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: Now let me just speak to those of you at home who've
not made up your mind yet about how you're going to vote in this
election. And I hope you'll think of it this way. If you want to
build on our prosperity, if you want progress not partisanship in
Washington, if you want to reform the system and not retreat from the
problems, then I respectfully say to you your choice is clear. Al
Gore and I are the guys who are ready to do the job.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
AUDIENCE: Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go.
LIEBERMAN: My friends, I have known Al -- I've known Al for 15
years now. I know his record and I know his heart.
LIEBERMAN: I know him as a public servant, and I know what it's
like to sit with him around the dining room table. We have discussed
-- often debated policy issues. And we've also shared private moments
of prayer. I can tell you that Al Gore is a man of family and a man
of faith, a father and now a grandfather.
I remember that when my youngest daughter, Hani, was 6, after
spending some time with Al, she looked at me and said, "He must be a
daddy." And she was right.
Al Gore is also a man of courage and conviction. He believes in
service to America. He volunteered for Vietnam.
(APPLAUSE)
Together Al and I crossed party lines to support the Gulf War. I
was there in the room...
(APPLAUSE)
... I was there in the room when I heard him forcefully argue
that America's principles and interests were at stake in Bosnia and
Kosovo.
(APPLAUSE)
And that wasn't easy. He had the guts to do it.
Two weeks ago, our opponent claimed that America has a hollow
military. I must tell you that that made me angry. America --
America, you know better than that.
LIEBERMAN: Our fighting men and women are the best-trained,
best-equipped, most powerful fighting force in the history of the
world, and they will stay that way when Al Gore and I are elected.
(APPLAUSE)
You can count on it.
(APPLAUSE)
And Al Gore -- Al is also a man of vision and a man of values.
Long before it became popular, you know, Al and Tipper led a crusade
to renew the moral center of this nation; to call America to its
highest ideals. He knows that many Americans have a swelling sense
that our standards of decency and civility have eroded.
And he believes, as I do, that no parent in America should be
forced to compete with popular culture to raise their children.
(APPLAUSE)
For his entire career, Al Gore's values have guided the way he
meets the challenges that lie ahead. That's why I hope that you will
conclude -- you at home -- as I have, that for his honesty, for his
strength, for his integrity and for his character, Al Gore must become
the next president of the United States.
(APPLAUSE)
AUDIENCE: Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go. Go, Joe, go.
LIEBERMAN: It was 40 years ago, when we came to this city, and
together crossed a New Frontier, with a leader who inspired me and so
many others in my generation into public service.
LIEBERMAN: Today we return to this same great city, with
prosperity at home and freedom throughout the world that John F.
Kennedy could only have dreamed about.
We may wonder tonight where the next frontier really is.
Tonight, I believe the next frontier isn't just in front of us, but
inside of us: to overcome the differences that are still between us,
to break down the barriers that remain and to help every American
claim the possibilities of their own God-given lives.
(APPLAUSE)
You know, sometimes I try to see this world as my dad saw it from
that bakery truck. Right about this time of day, he'd be getting
ready for the all-night run.
And I know that somewhere in America right now, there's another
father loading another bakery truck, or a young woman programming a
computer, or a parent dreaming of a better future for their daughter
or their son. My friends, if we keep the faith, then 40 years from
now, one of their children will stand before a gathering like this, as
I am tonight, with the chance that I have to serve and lead this great
country that we love so dearly.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: That's what America is about.
(APPLAUSE)
So let us work together to make sure that they will be able to
look back to this time and this stage and this place and say of our
generation, they kept the faith.
(APPLAUSE)
Let them say that we helped them realize their hopes and their
dreams. And let them look around at this great and good nation that
we are all so blessed by God to share and say, only in America.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. God bless you. God bless America.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Thank you.
END
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