Gore Picks Lieberman for Running Mate

— -- Democratic presidential hopeful Al Gore has selected Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, the first Jewish vice presidential candidate in history, to be his running mate.

ABCNEWS.comAug. 7— Al Gore made history today, tapping Sen. Joseph Lieberman as his running mate, the first time in U.S. history that a Jewish person has run on a national ticket. Lieberman called the pick “a miracle.”

The Connecticut senator received a call from the vice president on his cell phone this afternoon at his home in New Haven. He accepted the offer.

“It’s a special honor to be asked to run for vice president by a man I deeply believe in,” Lieberman had said earlier.

With most of the speculation centering on other candidates late Sunday, Lieberman said he went to bed “convinced” that he “had no chance to get it.”

But, he said, “Miracles happen … I consider this a miracle for which I’m grateful.”

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Having served just two terms in the Senate, Lieberman nevertheless already wields significant influence, largely due to his maverick ways and civility. The 58-year-old Yale graduate doesn’t always walk in lock step with the Democrats and, in fact, was one of the harshest critics of President Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

Back then, he had lambasted Clinton for being “immoral” and “harmful.” Today, Lieberman praised the Clinton administration as “strong, steady, progressive and humane.”

Picking this centrist signals an effort by Gore to win over independents and to distance himself from Clinton’s controversies.

But on Martha’s Vineyard today, the president lavished praise on Lieberman, referring to him as “a friend of mine for 30 years.” Clinton refused to answer questions about the Connecticut senator’s past criticism of his morality, saying he did not want to overshadow Lieberman’s day.