Eight years after sharing a spot on the Democratic presidential ticket, U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut returned to Florida to campaign for the other party and court Jewish and Cuban voters, who will likely play a big role in the state in November.

In a two-day South Florida campaign swing, Lieberman stressed Republican presidential candidate John McCain's foreign policy credentials and commitment to Israel and Latin America, comparing them with Democratic candidate Barack Obama's.

''Based on the record of these two, there's no choice between the two,'' Lieberman told voters at a town hall meeting at The Shul of Bal Harbour.

``This is more than making a good speech and seeming cool. This is about who's going to get up there and fight for you against enemies abroad and people who are trying to compromise your rights here at home.''

Lieberman, who shared the Democratic ticket with presidential candidate Al Gore in 2000, was elected as an independent Senate candidate in 2006, after splitting with his party on the war in Iraq.

And although he is still registered as a Democrat, he often votes with Republicans on national security and foreign policy issues.

He endorsed McCain last year, citing the Arizona senator's foreign policy experience and bipartisan record.

During his South Florida trip, Lieberman targeted Jewish and Hispanic voters, stumping for McCain at a town hall meeting Sunday at the Brigade 2506 in Miami, where he emphasized McCain's patriotism and commitment to continuing the embargo against Cuba.

McCain ''would like us to have better relations, but not by abandoning principles,'' Lieberman said.

Lieberman's visit coincides with Obama's multiday tour of the Middle East -- his first to Iraq since January 2006.

''I'm glad he's making this trip to Iraq and Afghanistan,'' Lieberman said while traveling from Hollywood to Surfside on McCain's Straight Talk Express bus. ``I'm wishing he had gone earlier because he was making decisions -- actual life and death decisions -- about what policies we should follow without talking to the generals.''

Though Jewish voters are generally thought to be a solidly Democratic voting bloc, more Republican candidates have been courting them by emphasizing pro-Israel and anti-terrorism policies.

Obama also has been hammered by Internet-fueled attacks that have linked him to Islamic radicals.

One voter greeted Lieberman in Surfside with a poster declaring 'Obama's `bad' for America and Israel.''

To counter Lieberman's visit, one of Obama's top Jewish surrogates, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler of Boca Raton, touted Obama's pro-Israel record to reporters Monday afternoon.

In his upcoming trip to Israel, Obama is slated to meet with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, President Shimon Peres, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Defense Minister Ehud Barak and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He's also expected to visit the Western Wall and the Holocaust memorial and ''get a ground view of the security position,'' Wexler said.

Wexler also argued that Iran's threat to Israel has grown under President Bush, who just sent his first high-level emissary to Iran.

''Obama understands quite well that threat from Iran is grave. . . . and that he must offer both carrots and sticks to present a scenario where Iran's nuclear quest will be thwarted,'' Wexler said.

Meanwhile in Surfside, Lieberman talked up McCain's pro-Israel record, comparing him to former President Harry Truman, who recognized Israel minutes after the Jewish state was created in 1948.

''John McCain has a total 100 percent support for Israel,'' Lieberman said. ``It's in his bones. It's in his heart.''

Miami Herald staff writers Jennifer Lebovich and Beth Reinhard contributed to this report.

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