Gore, Lieberman prepare for Los Angeles

By Ian Christopher McCaleb/CNN

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (CNN) -- With the completion of the 2000 Democratic presidential ticket, Vice President Al Gore and Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman will lead attention westward as they make their way toward Los Angeles and next week's Democratic National Convention.

Tipper and Al Gore, left, are joined on the stage by Joseph Lieberman and his wife Hadassah

Gore and Lieberman are likely to hit the ground quickly in much the same way Republican nominee George W. Bush and his running mate, Dick Cheney, did just two weeks ago, prior to the GOP gathering in Philadelphia. Though their campaign schedule is yet to be announced, it will likely take the two of them from Nashville -- home of Gore's campaign headquarters -- back to Lieberman's home turf for an appearance, then an extended trek to the West Coast.

The Democratic National Convention commences Monday at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Calling Lieberman "someone with the experience, the character and the judgment to become the president at a moment's notice," Gore -- the all-but-assured Democratic nominee for the presidency -- officially announced Tuesday in Nashville that Lieberman will be his running mate in November.

"With pride in his achievements, I am here to announce my running mate for vice president, Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut," Gore told the Nashville rally. "Together, we are going to take this ticket from Nashville today to Los Angeles, California, next week, and then all the way to the White House in November."

Gore then set out to heap praise upon his new partner prior to Lieberman's first public address as the Democratic Party's No. 2 man.

"When I set out to choose a running mate," Gore said, "I wanted someone who could work with me as a partner, someone who shares my values and believes in the promise of America. I wanted someone who would fight right alongside me for the people and not the powerful.

"Joe Lieberman has the experience and the integrity, he has the courage and the commitment, and for all of his public life, Joe Lieberman has stood for working families," Gore said. "No one is better prepared to be vice president of the United States of America."

Gore said he and Lieberman, while serving together in the Senate -- and later when Gore moved up Pennsylvania Avenue to become vice president -- worked together on a variety of initiatives such as welfare reform; the 1997 Balanced Budget Act; the so-called Cops on the Beat program to deploy 100,000 new police officers nationwide; and a variety of health insurance reforms.

"I've known Joe Lieberman for 15 years now," Gore said. "We have stood together again and again for policies and principles to bring a new time of prosperity and progress.

"There's a big difference in this election, and it comes down to this," Gore intoned. "Joe and I are going to fight to see that our prosperity benefits working families, and not just the few."

Lieberman's debut

When he moved to the podium after Gore's effusive introduction, Lieberman was quick to return the vice president's compliments in kind, telling the thickly attended campaign event that he believed Gore "is the best man to lead America into the new century."

"I am proud to stand by your side," Lieberman said to Gore. "I will use every ounce of the strength and capacity the good Lord has given me to make you the next great president of the United States."

"Leadership requires courage, it requires character," Lieberman then said, turning his attention toward the audience. "Al Gore has both."

Gore, Lieberman said, possesses the "most accomplished and successful record of leadership of any vice president in the history of this country."

Gore, left, and Lieberman

And, the Connecticut senator added, Gore's choice of the first Orthodox Jew to be considered for the vice presidency of the United States represented "chutzpah," a bold step aimed at breaking down barriers. Lieberman compared it to the Democratic nomination of John F. Kennedy -- a Roman Catholic -- for the presidency at the 1960 Democratic convention in Los Angeles.

"Al Gore, I thank you for making this miracle possible for me, and breaking down this barrier for the rest of America forever," Lieberman said.

Lieberman's wife Hadassah, who accompanied the senator, Gore and Tipper Gore on the podium, said her husband's new status was a triumph not only for Jewish Americans, but for all immigrants.

Hadassah Lieberman's parents brought her to the United States from Czechoslovakia at the age of three. Her mother survived the Nazi concentration camps at Auschwitz and Dachau, and her father was forced into hard labor in German work camps during the Second World War.

"Whether you or your family emigrated from Europe, Africa, Mexico, Latin America or Asia, I am standing here for you. This country is our country," Hadassah said. "This land is your land, and anything is possible."

Connecticut's junior senator will follow his introduction as the Democrats' vice presidential candidate with an appearance at 9 p.m. Tuesday on CNN's Larry King Live.

Bush pipes up

Gore's Republican rival, Texas Governor George W. Bush, spoke up Tuesday on the Lieberman selection, saying he hoped the senator's disposition would set the tone for the Democratic campaign.

"I respect Senator Lieberman for his convictions, his strong faith, and his record on Social Security, missile defense and reforming our public schools," Bush said in a statement -- making a slim reference to the Bush campaign's insistence Monday that Lieberman and Bush see eye-to-eye on a number of issues.

"I hope he will run a positive campaign and that the vice president will use this opportunity to change his tone to that of Senator Lieberman's level," the Bush statement continued.

"This selection now presents the vice president with an interesting test of whether he will continue attacking positions his running mate shares, or whether he will lift up our nation by elevating the tone of his presidential campaign," Bush said.

Lieberman, employing an effective but unusual metaphor, sought Tuesday to head off Bush's characterization of their supposedly similar thought processes, saying, "With all due respect, I think that's a little like saying that the veterinarian and the taxidermist are in the same business, because either way you get your dog back."

Plans for a productive partnership

Gore indicated Tuesday morning that he had big plans for Lieberman, telling NBC television his selection was significant because it signaled how his administration would take shape.

Gore cited his own "productive partnership" with President Clinton, saying it has brought him unprecedented responsibilities. He promised that Lieberman would play a similar role.

Lieberman, 58, served as Connecticut's attorney general prior to defeating Republican Lowell Weicker in 1988 to claim his seat in Congress' upper chamber. He is currently running for re-election to his Senate seat, and under Connecticut state law, could opt to keep his Senate campaign active while simultaneously running on the Democratic national ticket.

The new Democratic ticket is cheered in Nashville

Lieberman's pro-free trade stance has on occasion angered many in the labor sector -- including officials of the AFL-CIO -- but the state group's reception of the senator Monday was warm and welcoming.

"We have some significant issues with the guy, but there is no question where our loyalty lies here," said a senior union official.

Democratic sources said Lieberman satisfies Gore's criteria for vice president: He can assume the presidency at a moment's notice; Gore trusts him; and he shares Gore's commitments on key issues

One Democratic ally said Gore was driven in part by a need to make a pre-convention splash, which Lieberman's religion provides. The source said the vice president has been disturbed by polls giving Bush a double-digit edge, and that he fears the election will slip away unless he uses this critical two-week period to gain significant ground, particularly among independents and women.

CNN's John King, Patty Davis and the Associated Press contributed to this report.