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Should Al Gore win next month, will the first Jewish vice presidential hopeful run for president in 2008, and if yes, is the country really ready for the White House to have its kitchen kashered?

Sen. Joseph Lieberman's wife, Hadassah, wouldn't say.

"We have 20 days left in the campaign," she said last week in a brief but exclusive interview with the Bulletin. "We are serious contenders, and right now we're focused only on that. My job is to help my husband help Al Gore make a winning run."

The Democratic vice presidential hopeful's wife was in San Francisco Oct. 18, and appeared at a short Women for Gore-Lieberman rally at the Rosa Parks Senior Apartments.

After the rally, she met one-on-one with several media representatives, interrupting her time with the Bulletin to do a live television interview.

Lieberman dismissed the notion that the recent violence in the Middle East could in any way impact the upcoming election, saying that as a public servant for over 30 years, her husband had been very involved in the Middle East as well as other trouble spots of the world.

When questioned whether the senator had changed his campaign tactics after receiving the Anti-Defamation League's letter saying he was injecting too much of his own religiosity into the campaign, she said no, adding that in a democracy, all are entitled to their own opinions.

And as for holding religious beliefs that may put them out of step with many Americans, especially liberal Jews, Lieberman responded, "Keep in mind that the Jewish population of Connecticut is less than 3 percent."

"It's never been an issue," she said. "He understands the voters and respects them, and he's a well-respected senator by colleagues on both sides of the aisle."

Furthermore, she added, "Such values and faith help all of us, whether it be in raising our children or caring for the elderly."

Earlier, during the rally, the first speaker immediately began blasting the Republican Party, taking the podium without any introduction. But when you're Sharon Stone, you hardly need to introduce yourself.

Noting that she would be included in the top 1 percent "that would get the silly tax cut," referring to one of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's proposals, Stone said, "I've been very blessed. I can pay my taxes."

Stone spoke passionately about the necessity to preserve Roe vs. Wade, saying she remembered what it was like when women had to seek abortions in less than safe conditions, and she had friends who died and suffered sterility as a result.

She referred to Bush's answers in the third presidential debate, saying, "I know I need someone in office smarter than I am to help me figure out what to do."

Stone called several women leaders up to the podium, including Sarah Weddington, the lawyer who argued Roe vs. Wade, and United Farm Workers co-founder Dolores Huerta, recognizing them for their contributions to helping the lives of women.

And then San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown took the stage. Proclaiming "I love Hadassah," the mayor said of the potential second lady: "She is a wonderfully warm person — just like a lot of people in politics."

Lieberman approached the podium to a crowd of people waving "Gore-Lieberman 2000" signs as well as those merely saying "Hadassah" and spoke mostly on issues concerning women to an audience of mostly women.

"Women, as we know, as a mother, as a sister-in-law, as a daughter, we know how important we are to community, to home and to all the things important to society," she said. "And we can all make a difference in an election."

Discussing her visit to a center for victims of rape earlier that morning in Los Angeles, Lieberman said the woman she met there inspired her.

"But we need to tell men that you have to help us," she said. "It's your responsibility. Rape involves you as well."

Asking the 300-some people at the San Francisco rally to help get the vote out, Lieberman said there were still many undecided voters and each in attendance should tell people they knew to go to the polls.

"And we'll pray for a miraculous win in 20 days," she said.

Women of all ages clearly responded to Lieberman's message.

Dani Kopstein, who is in her 20s, said she and her friends were a little disappointed at the brevity of Lieberman's speech, but she appreciated being in such a small venue with her because she could get so close.

And 71-year-old Khana Lazar, an emigre from the former Soviet Union said Lieberman had made a "very good impression."