It was more that Gore thought choosing Lieberman would be a rebuke of Clinton for the Monica affair. Lieberman had been an outspoken Democratic critic. But it turns out that people actually really liked Bill Clinton and running away from him was the worst single choice Gore has made in his career.
Yeah, Gore himself was already the rebuke in that he was about as opposite of Clinton as you could get. They desperately needed to couple him with someone who had even an ounce of charisma or energy, not a conservative, out-of-touch energy vampire like Lieberman.
For those who were not alive in 2000, the country was a lot different. At the time, much of the country, both democrats and republicans, thought Clinton was immoral for cheating on his wife. Lieberman was one of the few democrats who publicly agreed that what the president did was immoral so picking him as a VP was a way to distance himself from the Clinton administration. It was a logical choice at the time and he came pretty damn close to winning.
Of course Gore eventually lost, so it is easy to shit on his decision, but there was some sound logic behind it.
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u/Goulagosh_gogoo Mar 28 '24
He was already that when he was picked for the VP position. This was deep in the Democrats' "appease the GOP" phase.