IN PRAISE OF PUBLIC LIFE.

• Author: Keisling, Phil
• Position: Review

IN PRAISE OF PUBLIC LIFE By Joseph Lieberman with Michael D'Orso Simon & Schuster, $21.00

The costs and compromises of public life

BY MOST ACCOUNTS, SENATOR JOE LIEBERMAN (D-Conn.) is a decent, devout, likable, and occasionally courageous politician. He's bucked his own party leaders on issues like the Persian Gulf War and cutting capital gains taxes. He's publicly upbraided Hollywood for its excessive taste for sex and violence; his pointed (and timely) September 1998 speech excoriating President Clinton for his "disgraceful and immoral" conduct in the Lewinsky matter also received widespread kudos.(*)

In short, Joe Lieberman seems exactly the kind of person one wants in American politics. So he's to be commended for wanting to write a book that he hopes will inspire more citizens--especially younger Americans--to vote, get involved, even consider going into politics themselves. His intent, as he puts it, is to provide a credible answer to the question he's so often asked: "Why in the world would anyone in his or her right mind choose such a life?"

So why is it unlikely we'll see well-thumbed, heavily underlined copies of Lieberman's book showing up in the hip pockets of once-jaded, now eager young volunteers ready to enter the political fray?

It's not for lack of trying. There's no doubting Lieberman's sincerity, idealism, and native optimism. He really does seem to love government service. The problem is that when Lieberman finally gets around to discussing what his life as a U.S. senator is really like--in the book's second, less interesting half--the picture is resoundingly ambivalent.

Yes, he's helped pass some worthy legislation, and he derives genuine satisfaction from some of his case work. But then there's having to deal with special interest groups, excessive partisanship, raising campaign cash, the long hours, commuting back and forth between Connecticut and Washington, and the struggles of juggling family, religious, and community obligations.

And then there's the book's first half where Lieberman describes what it took to get to the U.S. Senate. Tellingly, it's more vivid, more interesting, and more revealing (in some inadvertent ways). But here too, the picture is ambivalent, though in a different way.

Lieberman describes the unpleasant realities which pervade modern politics, including the inexorable imperatives of campaign fundraising; the inordinate role played by small ideas, negative tactics, and well-paid political consultants; and the personal toll many politicians pay on the family front. But it's also here that Lieberman reveals--without intending to, I'm sure--just why these realities are so ingrained, even a bit seductive. Much as he bemoans these realities, he also clearly takes pride in how he's mastered them. The game is unpleasant, even dangerous at times. But after many trials Lieberman has learned how to be a "pro" at it.

The fact that "Lieberman as campaigner" seems a more interesting figure than "Lieberman the office holder" also reflects a deeper change that's occurred in American politics over his lifetime.

Thirty years ago, many of the great dramas of American politics were played out in the streets, or...