Lieberman testing Iowa political waters

Connecticut Senator Joseph Lieberman, the Democrat’s Vice Presidential candidate last time around, has been in Iowa the past two days, perhaps laying the groundwork for a Presidential campaign of his own in 2004. Lieberman says he’ll decide by year’s end whether to run — but he will NOT run if Al Gore decides to seek the Presidency again. Lieberman says being Gore’s running-mate in 2000 was an extraordinary honor and running for national office is a great way to see the country. He compared theexperience to that of main characters in Mark Twain’s “Huck Finn” — their sense of adventure and something great just around the corner being a “metaphor for America” according to Lieberman. Lieberman says if he runs for President, he’ll spend a lot of time in Iowa, host of the nation’s first contest in the presidential sweepstakes. Lieberman, the first Jewish American to run on a national ticket, says he’ll run if he decides he has ideas and a vision for the country that isn’t presented by othercandidates. Lieberman was at the Des Moines Airport this morning, meeting with emergency officials to discuss security measures. Lieberman’s chairman of the SenateCommittee that developed and passed the bill that creates a new U-S Department of Homeland Security.