Lieberman: McCain 'no ordinary candidate'

ST. PAUL, Minn., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Joe Lieberman appealed Tuesday to U.S. voters of all stripes to vote for the presidential candidate they believe is best for the country, not their party.

"I want to ask you whether you are an independent or a Democrat, this year, when you vote for president, vote for the person you believe is best for our country, not best for the party you happen to belong to," the independent senator from Connecticut told Republican National Convention delegates in St. Paul, Minn., and the larger audience either watching or listening to the proceedings.

"I appeal to independents, Democrats, and Republicans. Let's come together this November to make a great American patriot, John McCain, our next great president."

Lieberman, who was re-elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 as an independent after losing the Democratic nomination in his state's primary, told the audience it could count on McCain, poised to become the Republican presidential nominee, "to be what he is naturally -- a restless reformer who will clean up Washington and to get our government working again for all American people."

Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, U.S. senator from Illinois, is a "gifted and eloquent young man" who will do "great things" in the future, Lieberman said.

"But eloquence is no substitute for a record, not in these tough times in America," he said.

If this were an ordinary election, Lieberman said, he wouldn't appeal for independents and Democrats to consider voting for McCain.

"But these are not ordinary times," Lieberman said, "and, trust me, John McCain is no ordinary candidate."