Old Lieberman's slip-sliding away

Many will recall the old TV program, "What's My Line" - a game show on which celebrity panelists asked questions to identify a mystery guest's occupation. For many voters today, Sen. Joe Lieberman appears to be something of a mystery guest on the Democratic ticket. It's hard to tell what his line really is.

Is he the same old "Holy Joe" that John Roberts of CBS described as an "absolute representative of moral rectitude"? Or is he just a cardboard cutout, a shiny prop to make Vice President Al Gore look more family friendly and less left of center in a ploy to capture the votes of undecided moderates? Is postconvention Joe the same man as preconvention Joe?

On some issues Lieberman's voting record shows him to be in step with Gore and his party, as in his support for abortion rights - even of the abominable procedure known as partial-birth abortion. Paradoxically, however, this puts him at odds with his own faith. Most Orthodox Jews are strong opponents of abortion. In contrast to his liberal pro-abortion record, pre-veep candidate Joe often stood to the right of most Democrats on other issues. He teamed up with Bill Bennett, the staunch Reaganite and "Book of Virtues" author, to bestow "Silver Sewer" awards on the entertainment industry's worst "cultural polluters." Apparently, Holy Joe won't be presenting such trophies any more, nor criticizing Democratic fund-raising practices. After all, Playboy's Hugh Hefner and gangsta rap mogul Russell Simmons are huge Gore supporters.

Then, there's affirmative action. Lieberman was spent his first day at the Democratic convention placating angry African-American leaders because in 1995 he supported California's Proposition 209. The initiative called for an end to racial preferences in state government and university admissions.

And what about tax-funded school vouchers? Or partial privatization of Social Security. Formerly, Lieberman had praised these ideas as "innovative thinking." In direct opposition, Gore has warned these things would be "bad for American families."

It appears that Lieberman may be forced to reverse gears on everything that made him the unique and attractive running mate he was. Will he, issue by issue, continue to flip-flop and allow himself to become a mere Gore clone? Will the real Joe Lieberman please stand up!

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