Lieberman choice may help 'de-Lewinsky' Gore

By Major Garrett/CNN

EDGARTOWN, Massachusetts (CNN) -- President Clinton had no comment on Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman's effect on the Democratic presidential campaign, but he offered plenty of praise for Lieberman as a senator.

"I think he's one of the most outstanding people in public life," Clinton said during his vacation on Martha's Vineyard.

While the Lieberman choice is seen as an attempt to separate the vice president from the taint of the Lewinsky scandal, sources tell CNN that Democrats are urging the president to do even more, specifically to use his Democratic National Convention speech to absolve Gore of all blame for the sex scandal the brought the ensuing impeachment saga.

President Clinton praises Joseph Lieberman as a senator

But that won't be easy. Before the early 1999 Senate impeachment vote, Gore lobbied Democratic senators and phoned key party supporters in the business community. And he made a memorable declaration the day the House impeached Mr. Clinton.

"What happened as a result does a great disservice to a man I believe will be regarded in the history books as one of our greatest presidents," Gore said during a post-impeachment rally in December 1998.

As Gore began his quest for the White House, however, those words came back to haunt him, and eventually led to a change in tune.

"I understand the disappointment and anger you feel toward President Clinton, and I felt it myself," he said during a CNN/WMUR presidential primary debate in New Hampshire less than a year later.

The president concedes his conduct has become a crucial political liability for Gore: "I think a lot of people who may not like me may hold it against him," he said last year. "I don't think mature people hold one person responsible for another person's conduct, do you?"

CNN has learned that a first draft of the president's convention speech contains no reference to the scandal -- or holding Gore blameless -- with less than a week to go before the convention. However, the debate on the issue within the White House continues.