To the Edge and Maybe Over: Part 8
"As we have sought to embark on a new century, America has had to reckon with great difficulty. We went through one of the worst single catastrophes in our nation's history. But under our administration, we have managed to rise from the ashes stronger than before. We have taken the fight to those who would harm our people and our leaders. We have given the people of Iraq and Afghanistan the chance to build a stable, democratic future. We have taken action to combat the scourge of climate change and ensure every American can live in peace and safety. I believe we can continue to triumph if you will give me the honor of serving as your president for four more years."
-President Joe Lieberman at the DNC, June 16, 2004
"We cannot defeat the evil that has fallen on our nation without recognizing what it is. Radical Islam is our enemy-the enemy of America and the world at large. I have seen the evil it is willing to cause firsthand on 9/11 and I will do everything in my power to ensure that Islamic fundamentalism joins communism and fascism in the dustbin of history where it belongs."
-Mayor Rudy Giuliani at the RNC, June 21, 2004
"Jesse's efforts to secure ballot access was unorthodox to say the least. He couldn't follow in Perot's footsteps by relying on a big bank account to get on the ballot as an independent, so he needed to secure party bylines. Getting the support of state Reform Party affiliates was easy-they were eager to have him running under their name. But the strategy of simultaneously pursuing the Libertarian and Green nominations-that was an unusual one. He had backers in both corners-Nader was an early supporter, as was Chairman Neale at the LNC-but a lot of folks on both sides ware wary of Ventura. He got the national parties' support thanks to both sides finding Gravel acceptable, but several state Green and Libertarian Parties selected alternative candidates-L. Neil Smith got the Libertarian byline in Arizona, Alaska, California and a few other states. Meanwhile, David Cobb secured the nominations of several Midwestern and Northwestern Green Parties. But in the end, Ventura/Gravel was on the ballot in every state barring Oklahoma."
-Excerpt from
Just Cause: Inside Ventura/Gravel 2004 by Dean Barkley
AGGREGATE POLLING AVERAGE, 2004
LIEBERMAN/KERREY-43.2%
GIULIANI/SANTORUM-42.4%
VENTURA/GRAVEL-11.6%
OTHER/UNDECIDED-4.4%
-RCP Polling Average, August 2004
VENTURA PROTESTS DEBATE EXCLUSION, CITING CPD 'RIGGING'
GIULIANI DOUBLES-DOWN ON IMMIGRATION BAN, CALLING IT 'SECURITY MUST'
PAUL AND KUCINICH STUMP FOR VENTURA AT RALLY IN MICHIGAN
LIEBERMAN VOTED WINNER OF FIRST PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE BY FOCUS GROUPS
DATA INDICATES EVANGELICAL SUPPORT FOR GOP AT LOWEST SINCE 1970'S
CAIR ENDORSES LIEBERMAN, ACCUSES GIULIANI OF STOKING ISLAMAPHOBIA
-Headlines of The Washington Post, August-September 2004
"Sir, there's a problem. We can't let you leave this location until we know it's safe."
"Safe? What do you mean?"
-Exchange between a Secret Service agent and President Lieberman, October 3, 2004
SHOOTING AT MARYSVILLE HIGH SCHOOL KILLS 19
-Headline of the Columbus Dispatch, October 3, 2004
"The perpetrator of the shooting was soon identified: Nathan Gale. He had been a student at Marysville in the late 1990's and at the time did not display any particularly dangerous traits. However, afterwards, he had developed a drug addiction, joined the military and gotten discharged after being discovered to have paranoid schizophrenia. In the months before the shooting, he had apparently developed a delusional belief that several of the faculty members at his old high school had brainwashed him into joining the military in the first place and he carried out the shooting as an act of revenge for this perceived wrongdoing.
Gale's actions had wider-reaching consequences than cutting 19 lives short, 16 of them young lives. His massacre was a blow to the credibility of the antiwar movement-not fatal, by any means, but Gale's crude 'manifesto' was critical of the Iraq War and this was seized upon by the Giuliani campaign to denounce antiwar activists as dangerous threats. On the other hand, the fact Gale managed to gain access to a firearm despite being a known criminal with a history of mental illness helped validate the Lieberman administration's policy on gun control."
-Excerpt from the article 'How Marysville Decided 2004', published in The Wall Street Journal, October 3, 2006
"Of course I agree with Lieberman that this horrific tragedy demonstrates the need for gun control, but it is also important to note the shooter's background also includes an infatuation with heavy metal. This kind of music indulges in violent rhetoric and I don't doubt for a second that listening to it so regularly helped push Gale over the edge. This is not the first time this sort of media has driven people to commit atrocities-the murderers at Columbine were similarly infatuated with metal and violent video games. I think it's important for Lieberman not to overlook these factors in his push to prevent future mass shootings."
-Senator Tipper Gore, October 8, 2004 as quoted in the
One Nation, Under Censorship documentary released in 2008
"Honestly, I'm not sure there is such a thing as 'moderate Islam.' You either want Sharia or you don't, there is no in-between."
-Senator Rick Santorum in leaked audio released on October 28, 2004
"It is fitting it is so close to Halloween, as what Santorum has said is deeply scary. As a proud American Jew, I understand the importance of preserving religious freedom in this country. It is a foundational principle of this country and I am deeply concerned by Santorum's apparent disregard for the principle."
-President Joe Lieberman, October 28, 2004
"In the end, the events of October turned the race from a tossup to a foregone conclusion. Giuliani never quite got a handle on how to respond to the Marysville shooting and the shooter's antiwar views harmed Ventura's efforts to disrupt the race. While he still performed well for a third-party candidate, his final percentage was a far cry from the double-digits he was hoping for. Coupled with Santorum's gaffe, Lieberman won by a hefty margin.
Lieberman's reelection victory, unfortunately for him, was one of the last triumphs of his administration. The next four years would not be kind to him or his reputation."
-Excerpt from
The Accidental Presidents by Matthew Beckmann, published 2015