Excerpted from Jewish World Review. Read the full text of this column here.
My own personal political-nightmare scenario doesn't involve a coup d'etat by
right-wing lunatics who attempt to take over the government of the United States. I'll let other people worry about that unlikely possibility.
My nightmare is what is supposed to be every Jewish mother's fantasy: a Jewish president of the United States. That is, a Jewish president who cares nothing about Jewish values and would be a role model for apathy about Jewish life and ambivalence about Israel. Such a president would be, in my opinion, not good for
the Jews.
But the amazing thing about [Connecticut Senator Joe] Lieberman is that in an era when Americans have come to view career politicians as a lower life form, he is that rare bird who not only can inspire personal respect but can actually make one believe again in the ideal of public service. He would lend gravitas to a ticket headed by a man whose prime characteristic is a willingness to say
or do anything to get elected.
Is Lieberman really in contention? Only Gore knows for sure. The odds are still heavily against his being chosen. But, in marked contrast to my nightmare, Joe Lieberman is a Jewish politician whose elevation to the job would actually be good for the Jews.
Just as the election of George W. Bush may bring back the national fad
his father inspired for the consumption of pork rinds, a Vice President
Lieberman could actually make kosher observance fashionable.