LIEBERMAN: My question, not surprisingly, is to Howard Dean.Yeah, Tough Guy. Big talk from someone who has nothing in his records except a terse admonition of Bill Clinton's behavior in 1998.
One of the most troubling decisions that Howard has made in this campaign -- made before -- is to close and seal his records, or most of them, when he was governor of Vermont.
And this troubles me because the people of Vermont have a right to know. The people of America, who are judging your candidacy for president now, have a right to know what you did as governor to determine whether you're suitable and capable of being president of the United States.
I have in my hand the memorandum of understanding between you and the secretary of state, which makes very clear that all it takes to open up your records, Mr. Governor...
ANGER: Get your question out, please.
LIEBERMAN: Yes, I will -- is one stroke of a pen.
Howard Dean, every day you tell people across America they have the power, and you're right.
You have the power, with one stroke of the pen, to open up your records to public view.
You have the power; I'm prepared to give you the pen. Why don't you sign this agreement and open your gubernatorial records to full public view?
(APPLAUSE)
DEAN: I am told that Governor Bob Ray, who was one of the most distinguished governors of this state, had his records sealed for his entire lifetime.
Joe, the reason that -- first of all, more than half of my records are open. And I know that because you all have been poring through them for many months to bring up all kinds of details.
(LAUGHTER)
But governors seal records for particular amounts of time -- in my case, some of the records -- to protect people's privacy, to protect the privacy that was given to advisers.
For example, there are apparently in these -- among these records is a group of letters from people who wrote me during the civil unions crisis, or the civil unions bill-passing, which was a crisis in Vermont because it was the most contentious bill that we had for many, many years.
What we have done is we have stepped aside. We have turned everything over to the attorney general of the state of Vermont. And the attorney general of the state of Vermont will go to court, and a judge will look over every document in our records. And they are free to release whatever they'd like, and that's fine with me.
ANGER: Back to Senator Lieberman.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: That is an unsatisfactory and disappointing answer. Why should you have to force a judge to force you to do what you know is right?
Your records ought to be public. Look, there are always exceptions for private matters and for security matters. The Boston Herald reports today that, notwithstanding the fact that you kept your records closed, you have revealed some security matters and, in fact, some personal medical histories.
My question is, as we go into this campaign, how can you and we take on George Bush and Dick Cheney, who have run the most secretive administration in our history, if you refuse to open up the records of your time as governor?
I want to say this: As president, records will be open to the public view. My records when I was in a comparable state position as attorney general are open to public view.
We Democrats are better than Bush and Cheney. And your position on your records has undercut the high ground that we should be on.
ANGER: A quick comment from the governor.
DEAN: I think if somebody is gay and they write me that, and they don't care to have that information disclosed to the public, that's their right.
(APPLAUSE)
LIEBERMAN: That's not the answer you're...
(APPLAUSE)
Excuse me. You are ducking the question. Of course you've got a right to hold back private disclosures like that.
DEAN: Joe, a judge should decide that, because if we decide it, nobody is going to believe us, and they're going to say there's more stuff in the record. Why can't a judge look at every single piece of paper and make that decision?
LIEBERMAN: You are ducking the question. You should not force a judge to force you to do what you know is right, and which will assure public confidence.
* Disclosure - I celebrate Hanukkah. No nasty comments, please.
