Interview With Senator Joseph Lieberman
O'BRIEN: A U.S. appeals court judge who served as Republican counsel in the Whitewater investigation is President Bush's nominee for homeland security secretary. Mr. Bush today announced his pick of Judge Michael Chertoff to replace Tom Ridge, who is bowing out. Democratic Senator Joe Lieberman helped write legislation creating the Homeland Security Department. He is the senior Democrat on the committee that oversees that department. He joins us from Hartford, Connecticut. Good to have you with us, Senator.</s>SEN. JOSEPH LIEBERMAN (D), CONNECTICUT: Good to be with you, Miles. Thank you.</s>O'BRIEN: A surprising choice, wasn't it?</s>LIEBERMAN: It was surprising in the most literal sense that nobody mentioned Judge Chertoff as a possibility, so I was surprised. I know him somewhat. I respect him. He's very widely respected as a lawyer, law enforcer and now for a short time as a judge. And I think what the committee will want to judge is his suitability to manage a department of this size, because he hasn't had a lot of administrative experience in his past that I know of, but that doesn't mean he's not very qualified for this job.</s>O'BRIEN: Well, sometimes resumes can be misleading in some ways. And there could be talents that don't show up there, but you're right. It's not like when you get a governor, somebody who has been a chief executive of something as difficult to manage as a large state. It's a little different than being a sharp legal mind. His resume almost reads like somebody who could be an attorney general or a Supreme Court justice.</s>LIEBERMAN: Yes, it does. I will say, though, in fairness two things. One is that being the assistant attorney general of the criminal division involves significant administrative responsibility over all of the U.S. attorneys and others that serve under him. Secondly, the Mike Chertoff I know is not only very smart; he's very tough. And this department, which I was proud to play a part in helping to create, has been gotten up and running under Tom Ridge, and he's begun to bring it together. But I think Tom Ridge would be the first to say it still has significant management challenges ahead. And Mike Chertoff is going to have to take over and continue the unification of these diverse agencies, fight for enough money to fund the programs, and just do a good job at protecting the American people from terrorism here at home.</s>O'BRIEN: Yes, I think it would be very hard to weave together a coherent management style for this cobbled-together patchwork. He said today -- this is Judge Chertoff -- said: "Tom Ridge leaves some very big shoes to fill. If confirmed, I pledge to devote all my energy to promoting homeland security and all our fundamental liberties." We'll take that at face value for now, but that's a tightrope to walk, isn't it?</s>LIEBERMAN: It is, but that's been the American way. Throughout our history, there's been, at times of war particularly, a tension between security and liberty, but ultimately America is about liberty. That's what defines us. And I appreciate that Judge Chertoff said that in coming in to this office. This office is really about raising our guard and developing a homeland security strategy. There are still areas of our infrastructure that we just haven't had the time, the department hasn't, to adequately protect the telecommunications, our ports, some of the nonaviation transportation sectors. And I hope that he'll really focus on that, because, unfortunately, we're up against an enemy that will strike at the vulnerable. And, in an open society, there's a lot that's vulnerable.</s>O'BRIEN: Final thought here. Do you expect he'll run into much trouble as he faces confirmation on the Hill? He does have a link to the Whitewater investigation, of course, and there's probably some lingering aftertaste among some Democrats about that.</s>LIEBERMAN: I'm sure that's true, but I will say on his behalf that he's been through three Senate confirmations, I believe all three of them since then, one as a U.S. attorney, another as the assistant attorney general of the criminal division, and then third as a circuit Judge. So, I think any of the lingering concern about how he conducted himself in the Whitewater investigation, frankly, has been dealt with. And people are going to move on and I think focus on his suitability for this particular position. The Congress, the Senate, as part of its advice-and-consent authority, I think usually defers to the president and gives the nominee the benefit of the doubt. So, I think we'll ask some tough questions, but my guess is that this nominee is off to a successful confirmation. And then I look forward, as everybody will, I'm sure, to working with him to improve our homeland security.</s>O'BRIEN: Senator Joe Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut, good to have you with us today.</s>LIEBERMAN: Thank you Miles. Good to be with you.</s>O'BRIEN: You're welcome.</s>LIEBERMAN: Have a good day.</s>O'BRIEN: Betty.</s>NGUYEN: Well, the trading day is drawing to a close. We'll get a final check of the markets right after this break. Then, you would think people living in Alaska can handle the cold weather, but this may be too much for anyone. It's well below zero and one village just lost its own source of power. That story is coming up.