DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move on.</s>BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: From one senator to the other, on the phone with us out of Pennsylvania, Senator Arlen Specter. Senator, good morning to you.</s>SEN. ARLEN SPECTER (R), PENNSYLVANIA: Good morning.</s>HEMMER: Let's see, Dick Cheney took some pretty good heat in the days after he was tapped for the ticket. Do you think it'll be the same for Senator Lieberman?</s>SPECTER: I don't think so. I think when it comes to pure competency or integrity, that Joe Lieberman is tops. I think that the initial speculation is correct that he's been chosen to try to give some distance from Clinton-Gore. Joe was the first person to speak up on the Clinton-Lewinsky matter. I think that Joe's going to have a very heavy burden to carry for Gore in that respect with the Buddhist temple fund-raising and the coffee klatches and Gore's willingness to hurl wild McCarthyism charges. But he won't be an attack dog. But in terms of a high-level fellow and competency, he's terrific.</s>KAGAN: Senator, when George W. Bush picked Dick Cheney as his running mate, the Democrats came out and looked at his conservative voting record. It's not so easy to label this senator, however. He kind of is -- he's conservative on some issues and liberal on others. Senator, are you still with us?</s>HEMMER: Apparently we've lost him. Apologize for that.</s>KAGAN: Senator Arlen Specter.</s>HEMMER: Senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania, we lost him, dropped off the phone.
Sen. Specter: 'Joe Lieberman is Tops' in Terms of Competency, Integrity