In the Senate, Joseph Lieberman, a Democrat, has adopted positions traditionally favored by Republicans – he's supported school vouchers, social security privatization, and has attacked the moral failings of both Hollywood and former President Bill Clinton. Nevertheless, Al Gore – Clinton's vice president – chose the Connecticut senator as his running mate in 2000. Lieberman had to downplay his positions on several issues during the course of the campaign, which struck a populist theme ill-suited to many of Lieberman's views. After being on the losing ticket in the closest presidential election in U.S. history, Lieberman promised that he would not challenge his old running mate for the 2004 nomination. When Gore chose not to run, Lieberman was free to seek his party's nomination.

Lieberman was born in Stamford, Conn., on February 24, 1942. He attended local public schools and went on to Yale College where he received his bachelor and law degrees. After graduation Lieberman initially practiced law, but after only two years he decided to pursue a political career. In 1970, at the age of 27, Lieberman was elected to the Connecticut State Senate. In his 10 years as a state senator, 6 of these as Democratic majority leader, Lieberman steadily grew in popularity and became a vocal advocate of fiscal restraint.

In 1980 Lieberman resolved to run for the U.S. House of Representatives after Robert N. Giaimo, the incumbent, announced that he would not seek re-election after 22 years in office. Lieberman quickly secured the Democratic nomination and challenged Republican Larry DeNardis. Lieberman secured Giaimo's endorsement and seemed to be the favorite, but national politics figured heavily in Connecticut's state elections.

During the 1980 Presidential election many Americans became severely critical of the administration of Jimmy Carter. Frustrated by its handling of an ailing U.S. economy and the Iranian-Hostage Crisis, the voting majority embraced challenger Ronald Reagan, and voted heavily against Democratic candidates nationwide. Consequently, the "Reagan coattails" swept DeNardis into office. Connecticut's Democrats lost six congressional seats and a comparable number in the state legislature.

Lieberman's defeat was not the end of his political career. Shortly after the election, he invited a group of reporters to a "not so much farewell but see-you-later address," during which he confirmed that while he had no specific plans, public office was "still where he wanted to be." Indeed, Lieberman wasted no time. By the 1982 elections he was again active and running for state attorney general.

Lieberman won the election with a wide margin and was easily re-elected again in 1986. During his successful terms as attorney general he earned statewide recognition as an effective advocate on behalf of consumers and the environment. By the time the 1988 U.S. Senate elections were coming around, Lieberman was a favorite candidate for the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Senator Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. Urged by the likes of Mass. Senator John Kerry, who had attended Yale with him, Lieberman boldly announced his candidacy: "I feel from my research that there is a case to be made here—it's time for a change."

Lieberman's 1988 Senate campaign ended in a close race. Weicker, the thrice-elected incumbent, was both well funded and well liked in Connecticut. But Lieberman triumphed, managing to secure victory by just 10,000 votes.

Once in office, Lieberman soon demonstrated his independence. In August 1990, when Lieberman was still a freshman Senator, Iraq invaded Kuwait. The first President Bush asked Congress for an authorization to use force to expel the aggressor state, but the Democratic Party was hesitant to engage militarily and risk American lives. Though he had only been a Senator for two years and risked falling out with his party, Lieberman supported military action in Iraq. He proclaimed, "You can't let a bully like that overrun a neighboring country."

Lieberman was one of only 10 Democratic Senators to support the campaign against Iraq. He was such an outspoken advocate that President Bush even asked him to be the Democratic co-sponsor the resolution to use force. In light of the international success of operation Desert Storm, Lieberman's stand won him a prominent position among legislators in both parties and galvanized his popularity among his constituents. When he ran for re-election in 1994, he won by a margin of more than 350,000 votes, which at the time was the largest margin of victory for a Connecticut Senate race. (He topped that total, winning by a margin of 379,000 in 2000.)

Lieberman has consistently supported an interventionist foreign policy. He supported the invasion of Grenada, the bombing of Libya, and has consistently supported efforts to nullify the Saddam threat, what he has called "a ticking time bomb for the U.S."

On the domestic front, Liebermam is perceived to be a voice of morality on Capitol Hill. In The Almanac of American Politics, it was stated that Lieberman has an "influence that came from respect for his independence of mind, civility of spirit and fidelity to causes in which he believes" and he has also been called "the conscience of the Senate." He is an Orthodox Jew and does not serve on the Sabbath unless it affects the public's "health and safety." In 1996, Lieberman was the author of the V-chip law, intended to give parents greater control over what their children view on television. He was also an outspoken critic of Bill Clinton's personal behavior in the Oval Office. Lieberman asserted that the Clinton's actions were "inappropriate," "immoral," and "harmful," but voted against removing Clinton after the House had impeached him. In choosing Lieberman as his running mate, Gore picked not only a man with a reputation for personal morality but also the chairman of the Democratic Leadership Council and the founder of the New Democratic Network, groups that have been able to raise large amounts of money from corporate interests.

In the 2000 election, Lieberman became the first Jewish vice presidential nominee. Lieberman, who refused to toe his party line on issues ranging from affirmative action to school privatization, quickly abandoned many of his positions when he was selected by Al Gore in the summer of 2000. Since that campaign, he has returned to his "New Democrat" identity.

In the closest election in American history, Gore and Lieberman won the popular vote, but lost the electoral vote after the controversial Florida recount. Lieberman did not show any discouragement at the results however. As he did after his failed election in 1980, Lieberman put a proud face on his defeat, proclaimed his great respect for Gore and announced that if Gore ran again in 2004 he would be his running mate again.

Lieberman continues to be a proponent of potential military intervention against Iraq and an outspoken critic of the Bush administrations handling of the environment and the U.S. economy. In March 2001, he launched his own Responsibility Opportunity Community PAC, which does not take soft money and has reported more than $1 million in receipts. Lieberman has visibly made overtures that reflect his interest in the presidential nomination; when Gore announced in December 2002 that he would not enter the race, Lieberman was freed from a promise not to challenge his former running mate for the nomination.