Family Values? Compassion? Vote for the Orthodox Guy

There have been many other Jews who have reached great heights of American political achievement. Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright come immediately to mind. The difference between them and Sen. Joseph Lieberman is that in their case their Jewishness was incidental, rather than central, to their political views and careers. But Senator Lieberman was chosen not

the fact that he is an Orthodox Jew but rather

of it. The strength of his faith is central to his appeal.

The American electorate is like a sailboat tacking in the wind, and the political wind has now shifted. In the '92 election, it was "the economy, stupid." But after eight years of phenomenal prosperity, it's now "the morality, stupid." It's "the family, stupid." Now that we've reestablished the health of the American "body" (the economy), there is a consensus that we must now reinvigorate the American soul (our values).

It's interesting to note that the political pundits were only half right about this election. They all said that John McCain's insurgent campaign was due to the electorate looking for a hero. Indeed, it was. But not a military hero. America was looking for a man (or woman) who is a hero to his or her spouse and kids. A hero at home rather than a hero on the battlefield. With all the criticism aimed at Al Gore for being wooden and lacking charisma, you would hardly have expected that he would have selected a running mate who is not celebrated for his electricity. But this proves that Gore, reading the pulse of the American people, understands that we have reached an age where people find morality to be magnetism and character to be charisma.

But Lieberman as a candidate of high moral stature is only half the story. He is not, after all, the only man of integrity in American politics. Al Gore could easily have chosen a devout Christian member of Congress as his running mate. The difference here is that Lieberman is a moral, ethical

.

There are two things that distinguish Jewish from Christian morality. First, Jewish morality is based primarily around the family. Whereas in classical Christianity, the family is the next best thing to celibacy, in Judaism it is the best thing period. Most Jewish spiritual practices revolve around the family, from the celebration of the Sabbath to the eating of the Passover Seder to the lighting of the Hanukkah menorah. Monasticism and celibacy are in Judaism sinful rather than saintly. Senator Lieberman's choice is a ringing endorsement of the family unit. The picture that ran in all the major media markets the morning when his nomination was made public was of him walking with his wife and daughter to synagogue on the Sabbath. When I was asked on the Fox News Network whether Senator Lieberman's observance of the Sabbath would make him a bad campaigner, I argued that the opposite was true. So many politicians cynically use their families as props to get votes. Who has ever heard of a man who puts his family

the votes? Who in the midst of a presidential election puts principles before politics, spending one day home each week eating chicken soup with his kids rather than consuming caviar with lobbyists? Besides, do we really believe that what America is missing most is yet another campaign stump speech on a Saturday afternoon?

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