2004[]
- April 12: Joe Lieberman secures the Democratic nomination for President after defeating John Kerry in several crucial primaries.
- August: Lieberman shocks pundits by choosing maverick Republican John McCain as his running mate. Both Lieberman and McCain are soon confirmed at the Democratic National Convention.
- September-October: Attempts by the Bush/Cheney campaign to target Lieberman as weak on national security fail, as both Lieberman and McCain are seen as hawks on National Defense. During the presidential debates Lieberman accuses Bush of dirty politics, while in the vice presidential debate McCain effectively trounces Cheney.
- November 2: The Democratic Presidential ticket of Joe Lieberman and John McCain defeats incumbent President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney, with American participation in Iraq and a failing economy seen as key campaign issues. The result is narrow, but the Lieberman/McCain team wins the election by 289 Electoral Votes to 249. Lieberman manages to win the popular vote, winning a plurality with 50.2% of the vote to Bush's 48.7%. Lieberman/McCain lose Ohio but manage to win Florida and Arizona. In his victory speech, President-Elect Lieberman says "A stronger and safer America begins today." The Republicans lose no major seats in both houses of Congress. The Republicans in the Senate, defeat Democrats by healthy margins. The election is considered historic because Lieberman is the first Jewish-American elected president.
2005[]
- January 5: Lieberman announces some of his cabinet nominations. Former ambassador to the UN under the Clinton Administration, Richard Holbrooke, is nominated to be Secretary of State, and Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack to be Secretary of Agriculture. Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm is nominated as Secretary of Energy. Former Treasurer of the United States Mary Ellen Withrow is nominated to be the first woman Secretary of the Treasury. In perhaps the most surprising move, Lieberman nominates Collin Powell, a Republican, as Secretary of Homeland Security. Other Cabinet nominations are announced in the next few weeks, including New Mexico Congressmen Tom Udall as Secretary of the Interior, Former Hawaii Governor Benjamin Cayetano as Secretary of Labor, Secretary of Labor under the Clinton Administration Alexis Herman as Secretary of Commerce, Texas Congressmen Charlie Gonzales as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Boston Mayor Thomas Menino as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, former Vermont Governor and former presidential candidate Howard Dean as Secretary of Health and Human Services,Former North Carolina Governor James Baxter Hunt Jr. as Secretary of Education,and California Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald as Secretary of Transportation. Lieberman suffers a setback when his first choice for Defence Secretary, Jack Reed, declines the offer to remain in the Senate. Kerry offers the position to Robert Gates.
- January-February: The Republican Senate confirms all of Lieberman's nominees.
- January 20: At a ceremony at the Capitol Building in Washington, DC, Joe Lieberman is sworn in by Chief Justice Rehnquist as the 44th President of the United States. Security is tighter than at any Presidential inauguration previously after Lieberman receives a higher-than-usual number of threats due to his Jewish faith. In his inaugural speech, Lieberman speaks of "a safer America" and promises to govern "strongly and vigorously for all Americans." He promises a turning point in Iraq, and announces he will set up a bipartisan commission to study America's options. Notably, former President Bush is present at the ceremony and behaves with great dignity much like his father 12 years before. Unlike four years before the White House is not blotted by angry staffers.
- January 24: Four days after taking office, President Lieberman asks the U.S. Senate to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
- January 30: Iraq holds its first free elections, surprisingly there is little violence and voter turnout is high across the country. The National Assembly begins to construct a new Constitution. The majority Shia population controls the new assembly, leading to violence among the country's Sunni population.