Lieberman was the Democratic Party's vice presidential nominee in the 2000 election, which was won by Republican George W Bush over Democrat Al Gore
But the US president risked damage to his eyes when he looked directly at the eclipse without protective glasses. He turned away as an aide yelled “Don’t look!”
The last time such a spectacle unfolded from one US coast to the other was in 1918. The last total eclipse seen anywhere in the United States took place in 1979.