'Meet the Press' transcript for Nov. 23, 2008

MR. BROKAW: Let's talk politics. You were here in early August. You were appearing with John Kerry.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Yes.

MR. BROKAW: You appeared as the vice presidential candidate of the Democratic ticket in 2000. It was, I think, a vigorous exchange at the time, as you continued to defend your choice of John McCain as your presidential candidate, the Republican standard-bearer. Here's what you had to say to the MEET THE PRESS audience at that time.

(Videotape, August 3, 2008):

SEN. LIEBERMAN: I assure you this, Tom, I'm not going to go to that convention, the Republican Convention, and spend my time attacking Barack Obama.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: And then we saw you in St. Paul, and this is what you had to say in prime time to a packed hall, great cheering, and to a national television audience.

(Videotape, September 2, 2008):

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Senator Barack Obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who I think can do great things for our country in the years ahead. But, my friends, eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times for America.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: You said you weren't going to attack him, but you were saying, in effect there, he's just not qualified to be president of the United States.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I was saying he was less qualified than John McCain. I think I, I praised him right, right there. Look, in that speech, as I said to the Republican delegates, I wasn't really speaking to them, I was speaking as an independent Democrat to independents and Democrats across America about why...

MR. BROKAW: Oh, but you're, but you are, come on, Senator, with all due respect, you were appearing at the Republican National Convention. You were speaking to them as well.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, of course I was, but my, my main audience, because they had already decided they were going to support McCain. I was trying to explain why I as an Independent Democrat--remember, I made the choice after having been elected as an Independent, why I thought John McCain was the better choice. And I think I spoke respectfully of Barack Obama. But, you know, that's over. Barack Obama won fair and square and impressively; and now, as I said the day after the election, we've got to all unite behind him in these perilous economic times, and that's what I intend to do.

MR. BROKAW: Were you at all uncomfortable when Sarah Palin later said that he pals around with terrorists, or when Rudy Giuliani, the mayor of New York--the former mayor of New York, mocked his experience as a community organizer at the Republican National Convention? Did that make you uncomfortable?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I didn't agree with either of those statements, and...

MR. BROKAW: But you didn't express it publicly then.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, in fact, I did. People asked me about it--during that period of time, people in the media asked me about it during that period of time. But again, that's over and Barack Obama has won. Incidentally, Barack Obama has set exactly the right tone in victory since election night. Magnificent speech by him. A, a great speech by John McCain. Election night was a great American night, classically American, coming together. Senator McCain, Senator Obama, at Obama's invitation, have met; they've agreed to work together on a host of issues. We can't afford the luxury of spending time going back to the campaign. There's a lot of people in this country who are in danger of losing their homes and their jobs, and we've got to come together across party lines to help them quickly.

MR. BROKAW: But you're being judged not just by your fellow senators, but by Democrats across this country as well, because actions do have consequences. Here's what you had to say at the Republican National Convention about the choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate, right after you disqualified, in effect, Barack Obama because he wasn't yet ready. Here's what you had to say about Sarah Palin.

(Videotape, September 2, 2008)

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Now, I'm honored to say just a word about the great lady that John McCain has selected as his running mate.

The truth is, she is a leader we can count on to help John shake up Washington.

That's why I sincerely believe that the real ticket for change this year is the McCain-Palin ticket.

(End videotape)

MR. BROKAW: Did you honestly believe that she was more qualified than you--you were on the short list for John McCain at one point--or than your friend Joe Biden to be the vice president of the United States.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: It's so sweet of you to run that clip and ask me that question this morning, Tom. Look, I, I got into this in December of 2007 to support my friend John McCain, who I've worked with on a host of different issues--climate change, lobbying and ethics reform, national security--because I thought he was better prepared than any of the candidates at that time--because everybody was in the race--to be the president we needed. I'm going to leave the political commentary and analysis looking backward to others. I'm focused on going ahead, now empowered to be chairman of homeland security by my colleagues in the, in the caucus and empowered to work in the caucus with the president-elect and his team to try to get our economy going again and protect our safety.

MR. BROKAW: You seem to have had a singular view about what happened in the caucus. You were quoted as saying afterwards it was the best time you'd had with the Democratic caucus since 2000.

SEN. LIEBERMAN: That, that was a misquote. What I said was I, I felt closer to the caucus than any time since 2006. I felt real close in 2000. But 2006 was a tough time for me and my friends in the Democratic Party. I lost the Democratic nomination over the--my position on the war in Iraq in Connecticut. I went on to run as an Independent. God bless the people of Connecticut, they re-elected me. And so I came back as an Independent-Democrat. And my status over those two years was a different one, but I felt--I tell you, the caucus was a, a very healthy exchange of real honest feelings, and I--that's why I said I emerged from it feeling closer to my friends in the Senate Democratic caucus than I have since 2006.

MR. BROKAW: There seem to have been several versions of what happened in there. Let me just read to you from the Politico: "Lieberman said that he doesn't regard his loss of a spot on the Environment and Public Works Committee"--I think you served on that for 20 years--"as any kind of punishment. ... `I don't view it as a sanction,' ... Lieberman told Politico. ... Instead [he] suggested he relinquished his seat on the committee voluntarily." But a spokesman for Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, "disagreed with Lieberman's characterization. ... One senior Democratic aide ... also disputed [the] contention. ... `It's a sanction,' the aide said. `Someone who serves on a committee for 20 years just doesn't drop it in the spirit of cooperation. It was taken away from him.'"

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, look, the whole spirit of the caucus was reconciliation, and the fact is that Senator Reid asked me if I would leave the environment committee if he needed space on the committee for some of the new freshman senators coming in. I said yes, I would. People may have voted for it thinking somewhat differently. It's OK. What, what I feel good about is that I have the opportunity and privilege to be chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, in which I've done a lot of work that I want to continue to protect the security of the American people at home, and to continue to chair the subcommittee of the Armed Services Committee that oversees all Army and Air Force programs at a critical time. And, look, this began with President-elect Obama, when he said both publicly that he holds no grudges, in my case, and I think generally. And, and then Senator Reid saying that he had heard from President-elect Obama, who asked him to do everything he could to keep me in the Democratic caucus, because the president-elect is looking forward. He knows the enormous challenges he faces. And I think he wants to make sure, first, that he has a united Democratic Party before him, and then, as he indicated in and after his meeting with Senator McCain, that he's got the opportunity to work across party lines to fix the enormous problems that we all face together.

The public is sick of partisanship. They really want us to put our country first. And that, I think, is what Barack Obama has been making clear he will do since the night he was elected.

MR. BROKAW: You've always, as a public servant, held other people accountable. You were the only one to speak out on the floor, for example, against Bill Clinton during the time of the impeachment. Holding yourself accountable, looking back over the last six weeks, two months or so, what are the statements that you most regret?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Well, I don't want to go into the details. Let me just say this, I don't regret having supported John McCain because I sincerely believed in his experience and his extraordinary record of working across party lines to get things done. But I do regret, as I said to the caucus and, and afterward publicly, there were some things I said in the heat of a campaign that I wish I had said more clearly. There are other things, frankly, I wish I hadn't said at all. That happens to all of us in the heat of a campaign. But, nonetheless, I regret it and I want to move forward. And I was very grateful that my caucus, in the resolution they passed, did not disapprove of my support of Senator McCain, because they respected that I did is as an Independent Democrat for somebody I had worked with very closely. They expressed their disapproval of some of the things I said. I accept that. That was the spirit of reconciliation. And now we move on together to get the nation's business done.

MR. BROKAW: Have...

SEN. LIEBERMAN: Urgently.

MR. BROKAW: Have you picked up the phone and talked to Barack Obama about just that?

SEN. LIEBERMAN: I, I called Senator Obama, President-elect Obama, after the campaign. He's busy. I heard back from Joe Biden and Rahm Emanuel. I'm sure, in time, Senator Obama and I, who, who, who have developed a good friendship and working relationship over the years he's been in the Senate, will, will talk. In some sense he talked to me through Harry Reid and his spokespeople, and I appreciate very much the spirit of reconciliation that he evoked. We don't have the luxury of looking backward to the campaign. He's the winner. He's the president-elect. We've all got to work together with him to make him successful, and that's what I'm committed to doing.

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