Sam Nunn to run on Unity ‘08 Ticket?
This is the first time I’ve read about Sam Nunn actually speaking with the Unity ‘08 crowd. This could be very interesting, particularly since it seems like NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg will sit out the 2008 election.
From the Atlanta Journal Constitution...
Sam Nunn left the U.S. Senate more than 10 years ago.Since then, the Georgia Democrat, who made his name nationally as a defense-minded hawk, has watched what’s happened to the country, and he’s more than a bit ticked — at the “fiasco” in Iraq, a federal budget spinning out of control, the lack of an honest energy policy, and a presidential contest that, he says, seems designed to thwart serious discussion of the looming crises.
Sam Nunn is still considered one of the foremost experts on national security.
In an hourlong interview, in his small office on Marietta Street on the edge of the Georgia Tech campus, Nunn acknowledged that he — like former Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich — is considering a run for the White House next year.
But unlike Gingrich, Nunn would run outside the traditional two-party structure.
“It’s a possibility, not a probability,” said Nunn, now the head of a nonprofit organization out to reduce the threat posed by nuclear, biological and chemical weaponry. “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.’”
The 68-year-old former senator, still considered one of the foremost experts on national security, confirmed that he’s discussed a presidential run as part of several conversations with Michael Bloomberg, the New York mayor.
More important, Nunn said he’s been in touch with Unity ‘08, a group with a goal of fielding a bipartisan or independent ticket for president. Initial talks began with Hamilton Jordan, a co-founder of Unity ‘08 and former chief of staff to President Jimmy Carter.
Doug Bailey, a Republican strategist and another co-founder, said Nunn was given “a more detailed briefing” from the group this summer.
Nunn said he’s not likely to make up his mind until next year, probably after the early rush of presidential primaries have produced de facto nominees for both parties. He said the decision will depend largely on what he hears from the current candidates. The only certainty, he said, is that he won’t be anybody’s candidate for vice president.
Former state lawmaker Larry Walker of Perry, a close friend who replaced Nunn in the state House 35 years ago, believes Nunn is even more serious than his comments suggest.
“I think he’s determined to affect the debate in the presidential race,” he said.
Walker said Nunn is under no illusion — third-party presidential candidates are historically poor finishers. “But I also think he realizes the dynamics have changed so much as a result of the Internet. We’re not in the Ross Perot era,” Walker said.
In the interview, Nunn admitted he is also tempted by the fact that a presidential run would offer him a world stage to press for a revolutionary shift in U.S. defense and foreign policy.
In January, Nunn joined with a coterie of defense and diplomatic experts that include Henry Kissinger and George Shultz to argue that the collapse of the Soviet Union and the rise of terrorism have forever altered the calculus of war.
In a new era in which the chief concern is Islamic jihadism, a world security system built around a nuclear stand-off between the United States and Russia has become “obsolete,” Nunn says.
Ultimately, he said, if there’s to be any chance of persuading smaller countries to give up nuclear weapons technology — and keep it out of the hands of increasingly sophisticated terrorists — world powers will have to put themselves on a gradual, verifiable path toward total nuclear disarmament. That includes the United States.
“What I’m describing is a different world than the one I was in during the Cold War,” Nunn said.
A native of Perry who went to Washington at age 34, Nunn abandoned national politics at the height of his popularity in 1997, two years after Democrats lost control of Congress and Nunn lost chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In Democratic circles, Nunn served as a mainstay for party centrists, but also developed an unusually strong following among Republicans who liked Nunn’s independence and his emphasis on defense and fiscal conservatism.
Though not as well-known as he once was, Nunn’s reputation in Georgia remains high. On Tuesday, the Rome News-Tribune, responding to the first reports of Nunn’s interest in the presidency, promptly endorsed him.
Like Carter and Gingrich, who became U.S. House speaker in 1994, Nunn was a center of Georgia influence in Washington. Unlike Carter and Gingrich, he has remained largely out of the limelight in his post-Washington years. He’s written no books, and — as a man who still speaks in paragraphs instead of sound bites — isn’t a regular on high-paying talk circuits.
Instead, Nunn has remained quietly plugged into the nitty-gritty issues of U.S. defense and foreign policy. In July, he was one of four other Americans corralled by Kissinger into private talks in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin and other Russian heavyweights on how to improve U.S.-Russian relations.
Next week, he returns to Moscow with U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) to mark the 15th anniversary of the Nunn-Lugar Act, which has provided U.S. funding and expertise to help the former Soviet Union safeguard and dismantle its stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
Nunn is also CEO of the Nuclear Threat Initiative, a private charitable organization originally bankrolled by Ted Turner. The group’s headquarters is in Washington, but Nunn operates out of his office at Tech, where he holds an honorary professorship.
Because of his well-mined expertise, for the past 20 years he has been a perennial possibility when presidential tickets are discussed. Each time he’s quickly said no.
What’s different this time?
“I am frustrated, and clearly frustrated, with the fact that I think my children and grandchildren are not going to have the kind of future they should be having,” Nunn said.
Political debate has been captured by the extreme wings of both parties, he said, ignoring solutions that can only be found in the middle.
“I do not see tough calls willing to be made by the body politic,” he said.
Nunn singled out the debate over energy and global warming. Those most concerned with global warming won’t consider nuclear energy as an alternative, he said. Those who advocate energy independence ignore the fact that there is “no analysis whatsoever that could lead you to believe we’re going to be independent in this country on energy,” Nunn said. “We’ll have interdependence and security in energy, but people aren’t talking about that.”
But if Nunn does decide to enter the race, Iraq, terrorism and the increasingly strained state of the U.S. military will also have their place as major motivations.
Though he has said little publicly, his frustration over Iraq — he opposed the first Gulf War in ‘91 — can barely be contained. “A fiasco, which we’ve basically mishandled in all directions. We’ll get over it, because we’re a strong country, and we’re indispensable in the sense that we’re the [world] leader. But right now,
it’s going to take at least 10 years to rebuild U.S. credibility.”
Nor has the Bush administration been able to create the necessary climate to make it easy for the world’s Muslim population to isolate jihadist terrorists, Nunn said.
“We’re in a race between cooperation and catastrophe. And to get cooperation you have to have a vision, and you have to listen. And we’re not perceived as having a vision in this country, and we’re not perceived as listening.”
The question is whether the American center — or what’s left of it — shares his frustration.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:00 am
I don’t see the appeal to this anymore than I saw the appeal of Bloomberg for President. If Nunn runs, voters will just be faced with one Republican and two Democrats on the ballot.
Has hear a groundswell demand: “You know what America really needs, is for Sam Nunn to get back into politics?,” because I certainly have not. I can’t imagine an independent presidential candidate generating more yawns than Michael Bloomberg, other than Sam Nunn. Maybe if Sam doesn’t work out, Hamilton Jordan can convince his old boss to run; that at least would have a little novelty interest.
August 23rd, 2007 at 10:30 am
Sam Nunn was very good on understanding geopolitics while in the Senate…if you watch the footage of the debate leading up to the first Gulf War, Nunn accurately describes the problems with American forces in the Middle East…in fact, his remarks from 17 years ago accurately describe the exact problems we’re having in Iraq right now…
I’m not saying I support Nunn, but he is a very smart guy…I just hope he stays away from the unorganized Unity08 movement.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:15 pm
“Fiasco in Iraq”? How absurd.
Hillary Clinton herself just told the VFW on Monday that in her view “the Surge is working.” Senators Casey of PA, and Durbin of IL said the same thing two weeks ago. And a Dem Congressman from Washington State admitted that the fact that the Surge was working so well, “may mean complications for us Democrats.”
If Nunn plans on running on how the War in Iraq is a “fiasco” he won’t have a snowball’s chance in hell.
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:19 pm
I remain convinced that this entire election pretty much hinges on the direction of America’s Third Party, the Libertarian Party.
If the LP goes with a winner like Wayne Root or Ed Thompson, than the GOP will struggle to win against Hillary. If however, the LP goes the route of running a standard 2nd tier mostly obscure candidate like Steve Kubby or George Phillies, than Giuliani or Thompson will prevail in the general election.
Looking at all the statewides (Race42008.com, Hedgehogreport.com) 1 to 2 million votes will make the difference.
The LP gained nearly 1 million votes in 1980. No reason they couldn’t match that and even accede that in 2008 with Ed Thompson or Root.
As a Republican, I’m hoping the LP goes with Kubby or Phillies.
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:02 pm
The George Phillies campaign has state coordinators in 24 states, is currently running radio ads, and has ran over three million Google Ad impressions.
Jake Porter
Associate Chief of Staff and National Mobilization Facilitator
Phillies for President
August 23rd, 2007 at 1:47 pm
I like the LP Eric.
When they do something of substance, please call me.
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:04 pm
if Nunn runs I will vote for him
August 23rd, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Jake, I hope you and George keep up the hard work and continue building a Libertarian network in all the States. I think it will pay dividends to Mr. Phillies come Feb. or March when Ron Paul is no longer in the race. I would think Ron Paul will follow the pattern of previous Republican Candidates and endorse that “Party’s” Candidate.
August 23rd, 2007 at 3:04 pm
““Fiasco in Iraq”? How absurd.”
Really? 70 percent of the country doesnt seem to think so.
Oh,and the rest of the world.
Oh, and like 95% of Iraqis.
In fact, explain what HAS gone right in Iraq.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:21 pm
“Hillary Clinton herself just told the VFW on Monday that in her view ‘the Surge is working.’”
This is not suprising since Hillary is a warmonger.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:24 pm
“In fact, explain what HAS gone right in Iraq.”
From the standpoint of wanting to increase profits for the military-industrial-complex, the war in Iraq is going great. It has already cost the tax payers, what, something like $1 trillion, and there is no end in sight.
August 23rd, 2007 at 4:58 pm
Trent and Andy, no 9-11’s, Saddam to the gallows, new schools, clinics, and roads across the country, clean water, more and more countries recognizing the new government after decades, an end to poison gas against the Iraqi people by it’s government, ect. ect.
August 23rd, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I would rather have seen the money spent and stolen in Iraq spent on new roads and schools in the U.S.
No 911? That’s because Bush is saving the terrorists the trouble of coming here to kill Americans. He has us in Iraq.
There is now Al-Qaeda in Iraq where there wasn’t before Saddam. We have alot of wars ahead of us if we’re going to depose every despot in the world.
Let’s not forget the 200.000 U.S. supplied weapons that are missing.
Iraq’s prime minister is already getting cozy with Iran and Syria.There are thousands of Turkish troops on the the Iraqi border ready to go into The Kurdish areas.
Finally the proof that the surge isn’t working is that Hillary says it is working.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:00 pm
No 9/11’s? How long was it BEFORE 9/11 that we had a big attack like that? It’s only been 6 years since the 9/11 attacks. I can’t credit the Bush Administration or the War in Iraq with there being no attacks.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:03 pm
“Trent and Andy, no 9-11’s, Saddam to the gallows, new schools, clinics, and roads across the country, clean water, more and more countries recognizing the new government after decades, an end to poison gas against the Iraqi people by it’s government, ect. ect.”
9/11’s happened in Madrid, London, and several other countries to a smaller degree. But Ed makes a good point, why would terrorists fly to the US and risk getting caught when they can shoot at our own soldiers from their soil?
As for Schools, Clinics, Roads, Water, and recognition of the Iraqi government—is that the US’s business? NO. That money should have been spent on OUR schools, clinics, roads, water, and diplomacy.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:33 pm
i wont vote for him. but im a green
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:48 pm
“then Giuliani or Thompson will prevail in the general election”
Eric,
Hillary Clinton will be the next president of these United States, regardless of who the GOP puts forth between Giuliani, Thompson, Romney, McCain, or Huckabee.
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:51 pm
Nunn is an interesting candidate. But, I won’t be voting for him.
August 24th, 2007 at 8:29 pm
The only way a former Democrat wins any election in this country is as a Republican. He can have the exact same views money and status of Bloomberg and the former Democrat thing puts him at a severe disadvantage.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:45 am
Trent, funny how you spin the number 66 up to “70%” of Americans don’t support the War in Iraq.
As a matter of fact, the number of Iraq War supporters has been climbing significantly in recent weeks. So much so, that the NY Times had to take a second poll, cause they didn’t trust the results of the first poll they took, which showed a marked increase among Americans for the War in Iraq since the Surge started.
Hey, WWII wasn’t that popular either, especially around the time of Iwo Jim and the Battle of the Bulge, where America lost tens of thousands of casulaties.
War is never popular.
All those who don’t participate, especially the males, feel guilty about it. So, they have to bring the rest of those who do support the Troops and those doing the actual fighting down to their level. So, they constantly bash War.
It’s a wonder that the numbers of Iraq War supporters are as high as 35%.
With all the constantly bashing by cowardly Americans, and their allies in the media, that number should be down to 10%.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:51 am
Ken H, I’m not so sure that Hillary will be the next President of the US. Her negatives are at an astounding 49%.
And this morning comes the news that Rudy Giuliani and Hillary are tied at 46% in the Survey USA poll in the State of Wisconsin. As you know, Wisconsin went Kerry in 2004. I think Giuliani can also win New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, and maybe even Pennsylvania.
As a former East Coaster, who is half Italian, I can tell you straight out, Ethnic politics trump everything! Giuliani will win the “Tony Soprano-loving vote” on the East Coast; Ethnic Italians who respect his strength and fortitude.
There’s also a shitload of I-talians in Michigan, which will throw that State into play.
I think the big thing that could cost Giuliani the election is the Libertarian Party.
If the LP runs a standard low level mediocre candidate like Kubby or Phillies, Giuliani wins easily.
If it’s Michael Jingozian, Wayne Root or Ed Thompson, the latter two having substantial amounts of cash, Giuliani loses.
Thompson is especially damaging to Giuliani, since he could win a substantial amount of the vote in Wisconsin. Could be as high as 4 to 5%.
That would put Wisconsin in the Hillary column, and perhaps cost him the entire election.
August 25th, 2007 at 9:57 am
What has gone right in the War in Iraq?
Just about everything. It is perhaps the most successful Military victory in the history of the United States. Stunning in fact. In less than 45 days we captured the entire country.
Granted, it took us longer to get Saddam and Uday and Qusay. (and Zarcawi). But we finally got them.
The War was won when we finally got Saddam. Killing shit-for-brains Zarcawi was icing on the cake.
The Iraqi people love America and especially American soldiers and Marines. They are begging us not to leave.
We’ve liberated the Kurds from the horrible tyranny of Saddam Hussein.
We’ve brought democracy to the Middle East.
It’s a stunning and overwhelming victory on all fronts.
Then again, if you get your news from CBS, CNN, ABC, NPR, DailyKos and the NY Times, you’d never know any of this.