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MftWOlOOl.
LET’S GET REAL
You can always tell when a presidential elec
tion cycle is starting. All across Georgia, news
paper columnists and pundits will start churning
out columns that start by saying, "It sure would
be great if Zell Miller (or Sam Nunn) were run
ning for president," then tack on several para
graphs explaining how Miller (or Nunn) is the
kind of conservative, common-sense politician
that this country really needs to get going in the
right direction. These flirtations with Zell and
Sam among Georgia's political pundits happen
every four years, as dependably as the sun rising
in an easterly direction.
The latest journalist to take up this cause
is my good friend Jim Galloway of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, who interviewed Nunn a
couple of weeks ago and wrote an article in
which Nunn said he was so concerned about
the progress of the Iraq War and the
state of national politics that he was
considering a run for president as a
third-party candidate.
Nunn was dutifully quoted by
Galloway: "My own thinking is, it
may be a time for the country to
say, Timeout. The two-party system
has served us well, historically, but
it's not serving us now.'"
Now, Miller and Nunn have both
put in a lot of years serving the people
of Georgia in various elected offices. It
might be very interesting if one of them were
actually to run for president and be elected. But
let's be honest here: that's not going to happen.
Zell Miller is 75 years old and getting crankier
as he gets older. If he were ever to get elected
president, he'd probably be challenging Vladimir
Putin to a duel and putting the world on the
brink of a nuclear holocaust.
Sam Nunn can talk a good game about run
ning for president as a third-party candidate, but
the strongest third-party candidate in modern
political history, Ross Perot, couldn't even get
20 percent of the vote with all of the personal
wealth he had to spend on his campaign. Nun , I
suspect, would come nowhere near that.
I don't mean to belittle Nunn's opinions.
I'm sure he's very sincere when he talks about
how frustrated he is with the current direction
that American politics is taking. But if Nunn re
ally wants to do something about it, there's an
alternative that would be a lot more effective
than running as a joke candidate for president:
he can run for his old seat in the U.S. Senate.
That seat is coming up for election next year and
if Nunn could take it back, it would provide him
with one of the country's best forums for speak
ing his mind on what needs to be done on issues
like nuclear disarmament, military readiness, and
anything else that strikes his fancy.
Even though Nunn has been out of the politi
cal spotlight for more than a decade, a lot of
Georgians remember him. His role as a thoughtful
expert on defense issues would serve him well in
a conservative state like this one.
The only Democrats who have expressed an
interest in running for Nunn's old seat are a
DeKalb County official with a history of violence
against women (Vernon Jones) and a TV
newsman who's never run for political of
fice before (Dale Cardwell). Nunn could
win the Democratic primary against
those candidates and provide vot
ers with a real alternative to the
Republican incumbent, Saxby
Chambliss, who's a loyal supporter
of George W. Bush and thinks that
things are going just swell for the
U.S. forces in Iraq.
If you're happy with the way the
Bush Administration has run the country
and conducted the war, there's no better
candidate to vote for than Chambliss. If you
don't like the Bush record and are worried about
the course of events in Iraq, you would have the
choice of voting for Nunn.
A general election contest between Chambliss
and Nunn would set the stage for a compelling
debate about the direction that America's politi
cal leadership should be taking. Nunn would be
providing a true public service for his state and
his former constituents.
If Nunn really wants to start a serious discus
sion on the issues that matter to him, he can do
that by running for the Senate. Sam, it's all up
to you.
Tom Crawford
Tom Crawford is the editor of Capitol Impact’s Georgia
Report, an Internet news site at www.gareport.com that
covers government and politics in Georgia.
Tilt MMIIH WMLI
by TOM TOMORROW
AS PROMISED, THE ADMINISTRATION
REACTED ACCORDINGLY.
rrs
A WHOLE COUNTRY
X WAS
V/E'VE DECIDED TO DROP OUT of
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AND LIVE OUT THE REST Of OUR
DAYS IN OBSCURITY AND SHAME.
I ME TOOK GLIB PROPAGANDISTS AND
SPINMEISTERS AT THEIR WORD—
BUT NEVER A GAIN!
BILL KRI5TOL YOU ARE
EVERMORE BANISHED
PROM OUR STUDIOS!
THE MEDIA TOOK A LONG, HARD
LOOK AT THEMSELVES, AND DIDN'T
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LEADING NEOCONS HELD A RuE
■FUL PRESS COHERENCE.
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