CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: It's time now for our Monday morning look at the latest political winners and losers. CNN senior political correspondent Bill Schneider gives us his take on who's ahead in the race for number two.</s>WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): We've got a winner and a loser this week in the race for vice president. Democrat Joe Lieberman looks like a winner. Lieberman's a talented campaigner. He's got a compelling personal story. And he connects with people well, better than Gore on all counts. Lieberman talks openly about his faith and the role of religious values in public life. That makes some groups nervous, including Jewish groups, who have been critical of Lieberman for, quote, "hawking religion." But Lieberman says he's going to continue doing it, and Gore has given his, well, blessing. Is it a problem? Only if Lieberman talks about specific religious values or a religious agenda. It works as long as Lieberman is talking broadly about faith and morality in public life, not only because of the Clinton scandals, but also because of school shootings and random violence. Voters are worried about moral drift amidst prosperity. George W. Bush talks about it, but Joe Lieberman does it even better. Republican Dick Cheney looks like the loser in the vice presidential race. He's not a natural campaigner, and he does not connect well with audiences well. Moreover, Cheney continues to be dogged by questions about conflicts of interest all week. He finally agreed to put millions of dollars worth of stock options from the energy company he recently headed into a blind trust, if he should be elected. Last week, former Secretary of Defense Cheney charged that the military under Clinton has been, quote, "overused and underresourced." But critics, including some in the Pentagon, thought Cheney's criticism was overstated. It wasn't clear what commitments a Bush administration would cut back. In any case, defense is not a big issue to voters this year. Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
Election 2000: Lieberman Winner of the Week; Cheney Failing to Connect