It's hard to make that kind of judgment. Certainly he has considerable experience and the insight that come with it. But Joe Lieberman showed in his responses that his own experience in Congress, which includes service on the Armed Services Committee, makes him conversant with military issues. The bottom line is that it's the capabilities of the president that make the biggest difference. We also saw this the other night in Gov. Bush's answer on the abortion pill issue.
Few voters make up their minds based on who the vice presidential candidate is.
To the degree that the public looks for reassurance that the vp choice are mature, intelligent, capable of advising the president and, if fate intervenes, serving as president himself, I think both gentlemen acquitted themselves well. Viewers who are prone to disagree with one or the other on the issues, I'm sure, will disagree with this assessment too. Bush gave an example of his approach the other day, appealing to his base by saying he opposes abortion but trying to reassure moderates by saying he knows it will take time to change people's minds and reduce the necessity for abortion. As a former regular AF flyer in Gulf War, I feel warriors is best and that NATO should not be in ultimate control of US troops. One great irony is that the strong arm of communist dictatorship also restrained the thousand-year old ethnic conflicts in parts of the world.