GOP officials try to head off Lieberman pick

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By Ralph Z. Hallow

UPDATED:

Officials with John McCain's campaign made a series of conference calls Monday and Tuesday with supporters nationwide to say that Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman may be named as the Arizona senator's vice presidential running mate, immediately sparking a frenzied effort by some state Republican officials to come up with a strategy to head off such a move, The Washington Times has learned.

One of the concerned state GOP officials told The Washington Times that he talked with two "high-level" campaign officials who said "Lieberman is a very real possibility."

Mr. Lieberman is a former Democrat who was Al Gore's running mate in 2000. Now, he is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate.

Mr. Lieberman, who is visiting the war-torn Republic of Georgia this week with Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican and McCain loyalist, will address the Republican National Convention in St. Paul on Sept. 1.

A McCain political associate said that did not rule out Mr. McCain naming Mr. Lieberman as his running mate. A campaign official confirmed privately that Mr. Lieberman is still a preferred choice for the vice presidential job and could be moved to the traditional third day speaking slot that running mate's traditionally get. The McCain campaign prohibits anyone in its camp from talking with the press about a potential vice presidential candidate.

Related story: Sen. Lieberman to speak at GOP convention

Mr. McCain last week played up former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a pro-choice Republican, as a possible running mate. Mr. Ridge was President Bush's first secretary of homeland security. Conservatives and evangelicals threw cold water on the idea.

All the while, McCain confidant Sen. Lindsey Graham, South Carolina Republican, has been making the case for Mr. Lieberman, a Republican official said.

Mr. Graham has been telling Mr. McCain that in the present political climate, he needs to pick someone who will turn traditional politcs upside down and draw Democrats and independents away from Mr. Obama, a Graham friend told The Washington Times. But the latest Battleground poll now show Mr. McCain has gone from a 14 percentage point disadvantage in May to a 10 percentage-point advantage with independents.