Los Angeles (special) -- Sitting high up in the Staples Arena, in the press gallery, I suddenly felt dizzy, but not from the height. It was the cheering that produced a wonderful kind of vertigo. Applause, cheers, yells of encouragement swelled up from every delegate and alternate section of the Democratic National Convention. Red signs bearing the white-lettered, vertical legend, "Lieberman," formed a new Red Sea on the Convention floor--a dramatic setting for a Jew about to cross into another promised land. The excitement, the warmth, the energy were overpowering. "All this for a Jew!" this newspaper's editor, Aaron Hoskins, although seated next to me, had to shout so he could be heard. And, as if to answer the thought, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, the first Jew to be nominated by a major party for the vice presidency of the United States, began his speech: "Is America a great country or what?" he exclaimed. Indeed, indeed!

The moment was made more remarkable because there had been a strong undercurrent of tense drama almost right up to the time Lieberman came to the lecturn. Throughout convention week, the African-American caucus had been expressing concern about Lieberman. As far as its members were concerned, Lieberman had been on the wrong side of two vital issues. As a senator, he had supported experimenting with the idea of using educational vouchers to help pay for private schools. He also had been quoted as having expressed support for the California ballot proposition which eviscerated the state's affirmative action program. So, on his arrival in Los Angeles, Lieberman met immediately with African American delegates, telling them that while he had supported an experimental voucher program, if elected vice president he would support Al Gore's "no voucher" pledge. As for affirmative action, he believed -- as President Bill Clinton does -- that the nation should "mend it not end it."

Lieberman's assurances were enough to bring many of the African American delegates around, but not all of them. On Wednesday, Aug. 16, the day Lieberman gave his big convention speech, he was preceded to the podium by numerous Democratic officeholders and candidates. I took notes on a dozen short speeches by African-Americans that day. Nine praised both Gore and Lieberman. Three praised Gore, but omitted any mention of Lieberman's name. 

Mute about Lieberman were Rep. Carrie Meek of Florida; Mayor Lee Brown of Houston, and Rep. William Jefferson of Louisiana.

Offering praise for both men on the national ticket were State Rep. Al Edwards of Texas; Indiana Attorney General Karen Freeman-Wilson; U.S. Senate nominee Troy Brown of Texas; State Rep. Jack Ford of Ohio; State Rep. Wayne Ford of Iowa; state Controller Carl McCall of New York; State Rep. Kwame Kilpatrick of Michigan; Mayor John Street of Philadelphia, and Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.

Lewis's speech-- just before that of Lieberman's wife, Hadassah -- was the most electrifying. In the heyday of the Civil Rights Movement, Lewis had been the chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He organized the "Mississippi Freedom Summer" in which Lieberman, as a Yale University student, had helped to register Black voters.

"I know Joe Lieberman," he said in an impassioned voice. "My colleague in Congress... my friend and my brother. ... As a young student he left the comfort of New Haven as a foot soldier to register Black voters.... Joe Lieberman is a man of principle...He walks by faith and not by right..."

Lewis said when he heard of Lieberman's nomination, he recalled the Jewish folk expression: "from my lips to God's ears." 

"I know America is ready for Joe Lieberman and Joe Lieberman is ready for America," Lewis thundered. "Move your hands, move your feet, march with him and make him the next vice president."

While the crowd was still in Lewis' powerful thrall, Hadassah Lieberman -already a new media star--stepped up next to share some thoughts about "my Joey."

"For Joe, family, faith, neighborhood, congregation and community are the guideposts of his life, orienting the choices he makes and the causes he champions. Community keeps Joe grounded and reminds him of his commitment to respectful living. It reminds him to embrace our nation's diversity and celebrate our differences. It reminds him of the Republic he serves, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

Then, there was Lieberman himself, carried to the stage by the melody from Chariots of Fire, the movie which chronicled the 1924 Olympics gold-medal victories of two British runners: Harold Abrahams, a Jew who won in the 100-meters, and Eric Liddell, the Scottish missionary who won in the 400-meters. This obviously was an analogy to the interfaith make up of Gore and Lieberman's own ticket. Perhaps not so obvious was the fact that the 1981 British movie was rated "PG" -- devoid of the overemphasis on sex and violence for which Lieberman has scolded Hollywood film makers.

In the first part of his speech, in which he introduced himself to the country, Lieberman told the delegates a "miraculous journey begins here and now. Tonight I am so proud to stand as your candidate for Vice President of the United States." Then, quoting the title of a book by the late Jewish humorist and newspaper commentator Harry Golden, he added: "Only in America!"

"We have become the America that so many of our parents dreamed for us," he said. "But the great question this year, is what will we dream for our country--and how will we make it come true? We who gather here tonight believe, as Al Gore has said, that it's not just the size of our national feast that is important but the number of people we can fit around the table. There must be room for everybody."

Lieberman told the delegates he had "seen the goodness of this country through many sets of eyes."

"I have seen it through the eyes of my grandmother. She was raised in Central Europe, in a village where she was often harassed because of the way she worshiped God. Then, she immigrated to America. On Saturdays, she used to walk to synagogue, and often, her Christian neighbors would pass her and say, 'Good Sabbath, Mrs. Manger.'" 

The anecdote brought to its collective feet the crowd who knew that Joe Lieberman also walks to synagogue on Saturdays. 

Lieberman said that he also has "tried to see America through the eyes of people I have been privileged to know. In the early 1960s when I was a college student, I walked with Martin Luther King in the March on Washington. Later that fall, I went to Mississippi where we worked to register African-Americans to vote." Then, quoting a comment made about him earlier the week by the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Lieberman added; "The people I met never forgot that in America, 'every time a barrier is broken, the doors of opportunity open wider for everyone.'"

He also spoke of Hadassah's family who was "literally saved by American GI's who liberated the concentration camps. Then her parents escaped Communism and were welcomed as immigrants to America and given a new life. The fact that a half century later, their daughter would be standing on this stage is a testament to the power of the American dream."

Lieberman said he also has "tried to see this world through the eyes of those who have suffered discrimination. And that's why I believe that the time has come to tear down the remaining walls of discrimination in this nation based on race, gender, nationality or sexual orientation. And that's why I continue to say, when it comes to affirmative action...mend it, don't end it."

In the second part of the speech, the vice presidential nominee moved into an attack on the opposition --but rather than slashing at the Republicans, he used humor to try to undercut their positions.

"Two weeks ago, our Republican friends tried to walk and talk a lot like us," he said. "But let's be honest. We may be near Hollywood, but not since Tom Hanks won an Oscar has there been that much acting in Philadelphia." 

The partisan audience erupted. "Go, Joe! Go!" they cheered, as the message flashed on electronic screens around the arena. 

"I am glad that the GOP has changed their rhetoric, but I wish they would also change their policies," he said.

"Their tax plan operates under that old theory that the best way to feed the birds is to give more oats to the horse," he said.

In the third part of the speech, Lieberman praised Al Gore's record, and painted a picture of how they will operate as a team. "I have known Al for 15 years," he said. "I know his record and I know his heart. I know him as a public servant and I know what it is like to sit with him around the dining room table. We have discussed, sometimes even debated, policy issues, and we have shared private moments of prayer.... Al Gore is a man of courage and conviction....and a man of vision and values.

"Long before it became popular, Al and Tipper led a crusade to renew the moral center of this nation, to call America to live by its highest ideals. He knows that in many Americans, there is a swelling sense that our standards of decency and civility have eroded. No parent should be forced to compete with popular culture to raise their children..."

Then Lieberman moved to his conclusion, which summoned up the memory of President John F. Kennedy's nomination 40 years before in Los Angeles - the start of what was known as the "New Frontier."

"We may wonder where the next frontier really is," Lieberman said. "Tonight I believe that the next frontier isn't just in front of us, but inside of us, to overcome the differences that are still between us, to break down the barriers that remain, and to help every American claim the limitless possibilities of their own lives."

In the tumult that followed Lieberman's speech, I exchanged greetings with some fellow Jews whom I met in the hall. 

"A wonderful speech," said one. "I think one line will be quoted for many years to come: The next frontier isn't just in front of us, but inside of us, to overcome the differences that are still between us.

As Aaron and I left the stadium later, we fell in step with three African American women from Chicago. Are you reporters? one asked us. "Yes, for the Jewish Heritage newspapers," we replied. "You must be very proud of Joe Lieberman," she said. "Yes," I replied. "As one day, I am certain, you will be proud of an African-American nominee for President." She smiled in delight. I thought perhaps I could read her thoughts: "From your lips to God's ear."