On the Right

A WHILE back, watching television, I winced when a Democratic stalwart referred to “sanctimonious Joe.” He was talking about Sen. Joe Lieberman, I quickly discovered. Since then I have begun quietly memorizing the anti-Lieberman glossary. A few days ago I spotted “race-baiting.” “War-mongering” is a term of derogation so widely used, you have to remind yourself to wince when you hear it.

There are those who belong to a mischievous political set that gets a kick out of the whole thing. Here is why, for those who have lost track: Lieberman was so radiantly established as a Democratic luminary that when Al Gore announced that he had selected Lieberman as his running mate in 2000, there wasn’t much surprise. Lieberman’s credentials were in fine order. Hometown boy from Stamford, Conn., brilliant career at Yale, on to law school and, briefly, the practice of law, before he won election to the Connecticut state Senate and began his rise in the Democratic party. In 1988 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating longtime incumbent Lowell Weicker.

About the Author

William F. Buckley Jr.

William F. Buckley Jr. founded National Review magazine in 1955.

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A WHILE back, watching television, I winced when a Democratic stalwart referred to “sanctimonious Joe.” He was talking about Sen. Joe Lieberman, I quickly discovered. Since then I have begun quietly memorizing the anti-Lieberman glossary. A few days ago I spotted “race-baiting.” “War-mongering” is a term of derogation so widely used, you have to remind yourself to wince when you hear it.

There are those who belong to a mischievous political set that gets a kick out of the whole thing. Here is why, for those who have lost track: Lieberman was so radiantly established as a Democratic luminary that when Al Gore announced that he had selected Lieberman as his running mate in 2000, there wasn’t much surprise. Lieberman’s credentials were in fine order. Hometown boy from Stamford, Conn., brilliant career at Yale, on to law school and, briefly, the practice of law, before he won election to the Connecticut state Senate and began his rise in the Democratic party. In 1988 he was elected to the U.S. Senate, defeating longtime incumbent Lowell Weicker.