Lieberman ready for GOP appearance

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- Joe Lieberman, the 2000 Democratic candidate for U.S. vice president, said Sunday he's ready to boost John McCain at the Republican national convention.

The Connecticut senator, who describes himself as an Independent/Democrat, said on NBC's "Meet the Press" "that decision hasn't been made," but he is ready show up at the GOP political confab in St. Paul, Minn., if asked by the Arizona senator who is the party's likely nominee.

"If Sen. McCain feels that I can help his candidacy, which I think it's so important to elect him our next president, I will do it.," he said. "And frankly, I'm going to go to a partisan convention and tell them, if I go, why it's so important that we start to act like Americans and not as, as partisan mudslingers here in Washington."

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., the 2004 presidential candidate who backs Sen. Barack Obama, the likely Democratic nominee, spent his time on the NBC news program chiding the McCain campaign for running commercials comparing him to entertainers Paris Hilton and Britney Spears.

"They're trying to scare the American people," Kerry said. "They are engaged in character assassination, even John McCain's partner in a number of initiatives in the Senate, Russ Feingold, said yesterday, 'They've decided they can't win on the issues, so now they're going to try to destroy his character.' And that is exactly what this ad is calculated to do."

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