Few politicians have done, just the other partys convention. Joe lieberman, an independent, spoke in support of john mccain. Senator miller represented georgia in the u. S. Senate and was governor of the state for two terms, standing on the stage in new york city 16 years ago, he supported republican president gorge w. Bush and opposed john kerry. [applause and cheering] thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. A whole new generation of the Miller Family has been mourned since i sat in that ox. For great grandchildren along with all of the other members of the close knit family. They are our most precious possessions. I know that is how you feel about your family also. I believe the next four years will determine what kind of world they will grow up in. Leaderar i asked which is it that has the vision, to bestr and backbone protect my family . The clear answer to that , my family is more important than my party. Applause]d man to whom ine am willing to entrust their future, and that mans name is bush. W. [cheers and applause] in 1940i was an eightyearold boy living in a remote appalachian valley. Our country was not yet at war, knew there children were crazy people across the ocean who would kill us if they could. Americat roosevelt told all private lives have been innocence repealed by an overriding public danger. Wilkie was thel nominee. There is no better example of someone revealing their private plans than this good man. He gave roosevelt the critical support he needed for peace time grab, and unlock unpopular idea. Made it clear he would rather lose the election and make National Security a partisan campaign issue. [cheers and applause] shortly before he died, he told a friend that if he could write his own epitaph and had to choose between he lies a president here lies one who contributed to saving freedom, he would prefer the latter. Where are such statesmen today. Where is the bipartisanship in this country when we need it most . [cheers and applause] the same time Young Americans are dying in the mountains of afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker democrats of session to bring down our commander and chief. The party ipened to spent my life working in . I can remember when democrats believed it was the duty of america to fight for freedom over tierney. It was president harry truman who pushed the red army out of iran and came to the aid when communists threatened to overthrow it. Time after time in our history in the face of great danger, democrats and republicans worked together to ensure that freedoms would not falter, but not today. Motivated more bipartisan pallet chips politics, todays Democratic Leaders see america as an occupier, not a liberator, and nothing makes this marine r telling them to occupy rather than liberate. [cheers and applause] Franklin Roosevelt led an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the lower half of the Korean Peninsula that is free because Dwight Eisenhower demanded an army of liberators, not occupiers. Tell that to the halfbillion men, women, and children are free from poland and siberia because Ronald Reagan rebuilt the military of liberators, not occupiers. Liberators, not occupiers. Never in the history of the world has any soldiers sacrificed more of the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the american soldier. Just giveldiers dont freedom abroad, they preserve it for us here at home. It is the soldier, not the reporter who has given us the freedom of the press. [cheers and applause] it is them who have given us free speech. It is the soldiers, not the agitators who have given us the freedom to protest. Who servesoldier beneath the flag whose coffin is draped by the flag and gives that protester the freedom he abuses to burn that flag. [cheers and applause] think should dare to even about being the commander in chief of this country if he doesnt believe with all his heart that our soldiers are liberators abroad and defenders of freedom at home. [cheers and applause. ] but waste your breath telling that to the leaders of the party. They dont believe there is any real danger in the world except that which america rings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy. It is not their patriotism but their judgment that has been so sorely lacking. They claimed reagans defense buildup would lead to war. They were wrong. No person has been wrong than the two senators from massachusetts. [cheers and applause] together cantor and carey have opposed the systems that won the cold war together kennedy and erry oppose the systems that won the cold war. Kerry sounds like an auctioneer selling off our National Security. The b1, or that senator kerry opposed dropped 40 of the bombs in the first months of enduring freedom. The b2 bomber that senator kerry opposed delivered airstrikes against the taliban in afghanistan and the command post in iraq. The tomkat that senator kerry opposed shot down qaddafis libyans. Kerry14 that senator opposed delivered missile strikes against tora bora. The Apache Helicopter that senator kerry opposed took out those Republican Guard tanks in kuwait and the gulf war. The f15 eagle that senator kerry opposed blue over our nation flew over our nation in this very city after 9 11. Onould go on and on and against the Patriot Missile that shot down saddam husseins good missiles over scud missiles. Initiative,defense against the trident missile, against, against, against. Tos is in the man who wants be the commanderinchief of the u. S. Armed forces. [crowd booing] with what . Spitballs . Cheering and applause] 20 years can tell you much more about a man then 20 weeks of campaign rhetoric. Wantign tells who you people to think you are. How you vote tells people who you really are deep inside. Applause]and senator kerry has made it clear that he will use military force only if approved by the united nations. Booing] would let paris decide when the u. S. Needs defending. Kerry who says he doesnt like outsourcing, wants to outsource our National Security. Thats the most dangerous outsourcing of all. This politician once to be leader of the free world, free for how long . Years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, john kerry has been more wrong, more week, in moreore weak come wobbly than any national figure. [cheering and applause] blamedr protester, he our military. As a senator, he voted to weaken our military. Nothing shows that more sadly and clearly than his vote this year to deny protected armor by our troops far away. [crowd booing] bush understands need new strategies to meet new threats. President bush believes we have to fight todays war and be ready for tomorrows challenges. [applause] president bush is committed to providing the kinds of forces to root out terrorist, no matter what spider hole they may hide in or what rock they crawl under. [applause] w. Bush wants to grab paris and not let them get a better grip. Yes, no,y, they get a maybe. They can only encourage our enemies and confuse our friends. I first got to know george w. Bush when we served as governors together. I admire this man and i am moved by the respect he shows the first lady come his unabashed love for his parents and daughters. [applause] and the fact that he is thatamed of his belief god is not indifferent to america. [cheering and applause] identify with someone who line, i was blind but now i see and i like the fact that he is the same man on a saturday night that he is on sunday morning. [cheering and applause] talker, but aick straight shooter. And where i come from, deeds mean a lot more than words. Knocked on the door of this mans soul and found someone home. A godfearing man with a good of temperedspine steel. Applause] the man i trust to protect my most precious, my family. This election will change forever the course of history. That is our history. The only question is how the answer lies with each of us. Like many generations before us, we have some hard choosing to do. Right now, the world cannot afford an indecisive america. Party selfindulgence will put at risk all we care about in this world. In this hour of the danger, our president has had the courage to stand up and this democrats is proud to stand up with him. Thank you. God bless you. [cheers and applause] another pretty crossover speech have been four years later when Joe Lieberman spoke at the Republican Convention in st. Paul. He was devised president ial nominee in 2000 and represented connecticut in the u. S. Senate as a democrat for 17 years before switching to independent in 2006. Joe lieberman told convention goers the reason he supported john mccain for president was country over party. [applause] thank you very much. Thank you, dear friends people [applause] much friends. [applause] thank you so much. I really appreciate it. I am honored to be here tonight. As you know, we meet tonight in the wake of a terrible storm that hit the gulf coast, really hurts all of us, no matter where we live, because we are all members of a larger american family. [applause] at times like this, we set aside all that divides us to help our fellow americans in need. The last thing we think about is whether one of the victims was a democrat or a republican, because we are all americans. It shouldnt take a hurricane to bring us together. Our fellow citizens are facing problems very they are worried about their homes and jobs and businesses. They are wearing about the outrageous cost of gasoline and health insurance, and they are worried about the threats from our enemies abroad. [applause] but when they look to washington , all too often they dont see their leaders coming together to tackle these problems. Andead, they see democrat republicans fighting each other rather than fighting for the American People. [applause] i dont have to tell you that we were blessed in this country to have a great generation of founders, and they foresaw the danger of this kind of senseless partisanship. In fact, our first president , george washington, in his farewell address warned that the spirit of party could be the worst enemy of our democracy and our ability to do our job. President washington was absolutely right. The truth is, today we are living through his Worst Nightmare in the capital city that bears his name. [applause] and that brings me directly to why im here tonight. What, after all, is a democrat like me doing at a Republican Convention like this . [applause] well, ill tell you what. Im here to support john mccain because country matters more than party. [cheering and applause] i am here tonight for a simple reason. John mccain is the best choice to bring our country together and lead america forward. [applause] and, dear friends, i am here tonight because john mccains whole life testifies to a great truth, being a democrat or a republican is important, but it is nowhere near as important as being in an american. [cheering and applause] [crowd chanting usa] talking about changing the culture of washington and breaking through the partisan gridlock and special interests that are poisoning our politics. Only one of them has actually done it. Only one has shown the courage and the capability to rise above the smallest of our politics to get big things done for our country and our people, and that mccain. Ohn s. [applause] you know john, and you know he understands it shouldnt take a Natural Disaster like a hurricane to get us to take off our partisan blinders and Work Together to get things done. It shouldnt take a Natural Disaster to teach us that the American People really dont dare much if you have an r or after your name. What they care about is are we solving the problems they face every day . What you can expect from john mccain as president is precisely what hes done this week our country first. [cheering and applause] that is not a political posture by john, it is the code but which he has lived his entire life and that is the code that he will carry with him into the white house next january. [applause] let me tell you that i have had the privilege of serving with john for almost 20 years. In the honor of becoming a dear friend of his. I have seen over and over again bringing people together for both parties to tackle our toughest problems. For example, to reform the campaignfinance news and ethics laws to create the independent 9 11 commission at that great a Natural Disaster caused by the passed theand National Security reforms that it made every american safer since then. And then he worked together to end the partisan paralysis over nominations to the Supreme Court and other federal courts. [applause] now let me share something with you that im in a unique position to do as a democrats. My democratic friends know all about johns record of independent and published. Thats why i think some of them are spending so much time and is so much money trying to convince the American People that john mccain is someone else. I am here to tell you what i think you know, but i want to speak to the people out there. Dont be fooled by some of the political statements and advertisements. Trust me, god only made one john mccain, and he is his own man. Applause [cheering and applause] as john would say, let me give you some straight talk. If john mccain was just another go along partisan politician, he never would have taken on corrupt publican republican lobbies or big corporations cheating the American People are powerful collies in congress who were wasting taxpayer money, but he did. If john mccain was another go along partisan politician, never would have led the fight to fix our broken immigration system actually do something about global warming, but he did. [applause] as a matter of fact, if john mccain is just another partisan republican, than im Michael Moores favorite democrat. Applause]and and im not. And i think you know that im not. [laughter] senator barack obama is a gifted and eloquent young man who i think can do great things for our country in the years ahead, but eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times. [applause] in the senate during the three and a half years that senator obama has been a member, he has not reached across party lines to accomplish anything significant, nor has he been willing to take on powerful Interest Groups in the Democratic Party to get something done. I just ask you to contrast that with john mccains record of independence and bipartisanship. Let me go one further, in this may make history at this Republican Convention let me contrast Barack Obamas record to the record of the last democratic president , bill clinton, who stood up to some of those same democratic Interest Groups, worked with republicans and got some important things done, like welfare reform, free trade agreements, and a balanced budget. [applause] i am honored to say just a word about the great lady that john mccain has selected as his running mate. [applause] governor palin, like john mccain, is a reformer. She has taken on the special interest and political power brokers in alaska and reached across party lines to get things done. The truth is, she is a leader we can count on to help john shake up washington. [applause] that is why i sincerely believe that the real ticket for change this year is the mccainpalin ticket. Applause]and let me tell you, friends, that the washington bureaucrats and powerbrokers are not going to be willto build a pen that hold in these two mavericks. It is just not possible. Together, i think we can count on john and sarah to fight or america and to fight for you, the American People, and thats what our country needs most right now. [applause] we all know it. These are tough times here at home, and we have dangerous enemies in the world. What America Needs now, frankly, is not more party unity. What we need now is more national unity. [applause] and this is especially true, because we are a nation at war. We need a president we can count on to fight what is right for our country, not only when it is easy, but when it is hard. When others were silent about the war in iraq, john mccain had the guts and the judgment to sound the alarm about the mistakes we were making in iraq. [applause] when others wanted to repeat retreat from defeat in battle, which would have been a disaster for the usa, when colleagues like barack obama were voting to cut off funding for our american ops on the battlefield [crowd booing] john mccain had the courage opinion,against public advocate and support the surge, and because of that today, american troops are coming home, thousands of them, and they are. Oming home in honor cheering and applause] my friends, i have had the in johnleasure of traveling mccain, even with Lindsey Graham it was a pleasure but i speak of john and i can tell you from these travels how much he is respected and admired and liked by leaders across the globe. John mccain be a president our allies will trust in our enemies will fear. President weind of in todays world need. [cheering and applause] [crowd chanting] friends, before i conclude, i want to ask the indulgence of all of you here in this hall tonight because i want to speak directly to my fellow democrats and independents who are watching and listening tonight. I want to speak directly to you out there. I know many of you are angry and frustrated by our government and politics today, and for good reason. You may be thinking of voting for john mccain but you are not sure yet some of you may never have voted for a republican before and frankly, in an ordinary election, you never would. But i want you to believe that this is no ordinary election. [applause] it is no ordinary election because they are not these are not ordinary times. And john mccain is no ordinary candidate. [applause] you may no