Conservatives: can you name one liberal political figure whom you respect and perhaps even admire?

I lean conservative, but also have many liberal ideals, but on this I will say that I truly admired Bill Clinton and voted for him. He was a fiscal conservative, which I love, giving us a surplus while he was in office. He was a cool, friendly guy.

figured you would pick the sex pervert

I am not a conservative (nor a liberal), but I would say that Barack Obama and Ruth Bader Ginsburg are two liberal figures who I think deserve respect. President Obama successfully restored the reputation of the United States throughout much of the world. And while his Cabinet didn’t quite live up to the “team of rivals” notion that he was going for, his approach to governance was by all accounts one of “listen to all points of view, then decide.”

As for Ruth Bader Ginsburg, she is a brilliant and witty jurist who has one of the most forceful and consistent voices on the US Supreme Court. She is also unafraid to point out missteps made by her political allies, own up to personal mistakes, or to find friends—and sometimes even consensus—in unlikely places (e.g., Antonin Scalia). Anyone interested in appointing liberal judges to the Supreme Court would do well to use her as their standard of measurement.

@ragingloli Surely you’ve realized that all humans are sex perverts.

Joe Lieberman always seemed trustworthy and a very likable man. Nevertheless I never would have voted for him even if I lived in his State of Connecticut or when he ran for Vice President with Al Gore in 2000. Even as an independent, he’s too liberal for me.

I’m not going to put myself in a conservative camp, but I suppose between a left / right divide I certainly lean more in that direction.

Still, I’ve always admired Alan Dershowitz, since he clearly calls out those on “his side” who mischaracterize and set up obvious straw man arguments, and behave badly in debate.

Also, since I’ve come to realize that he calls himself “a liberal” (though I hardly thought so), Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert and author of a number of non-Dilbert books) would also fall in that camp.

@gondwanalon

Funny, as a liberal, Leiberman was far too conservative for me.

Probably because Lieberman is not, and never has been, a liberal. He has been a moderate his entire career.

And where he really lost me was his endorsement of the McCain/Palin ticket and his wishy-washy “I’m not a Democrat anymore…well maybe I’ll be a Democrat…nope, not…yeah, ok, I’ll still be a Democrat”.