Posted on 08/26/2007 12:28:28 PM PDT by no dems
Former Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn says he is disappointed with the current presidential campaign and is considering a bipartisan or independent run for the White House in 2008.
“It’s a possibility, not a probability,” Nunn said in an interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“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 Georgian said he’s distressed by the “fiasco” in Iraq, the out-of-control federal budget, U.S. energy policy, and a presidential campaign that has not dealt straight on with important issues.
“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,” he told the newspaper.
Nunn, 68, made his mark as a defense-minded hawk and is still considered an expert on national security. He retired from the Senate in 1996 and now heads a nonprofit organization that seeks to reduce the threat from nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
As NewsMax.com reported in early August, he has had discussions with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about an independent challenge to the major parties. And he has been communicating with Unity ’08, a group with the goal of fielding a bipartisan or independent ticket for president.
Nunn said he most likely won’t make up his mind about a presidential run until next year, after the early primaries have indicated the most likely nominees, the Journal-Constitution reports. But he ruled out running as anybody’s candidate for vice president.
“The overriding rationale of a Nunn run,” the Democratic Strategist Web site observes, “would probably be the argument that Democrats are too allergic to the use of force to be entrusted with national security, while Republicans have proven to be both incompetent and excessively ideological, seriously damaging U.S. credibility.”
Nunn has taken a radical stance on defense policy. He said policy created around a nuclear standoff between the U.S. and Russia is now “obsolete.” He believes the only way to persuade smaller countries to give up nuclear weapons technology — and to keep it out of the hands of terrorists — is for all nations, including the U.S., to begin down the path toward total nuclear disarmament.
Nunn is traveling to Moscow to mark the 15th anniversary of the Nunn-Lugar Act, which has provided American funding and know-how to help the former Soviet Union safeguard and dismantle its nuclear arsenal.
It’s my recollection that he voted to donate American territory to the drug smugglers.
He believes the only way to persuade smaller countries to give up nuclear weapons technology — and to keep it out of the hands of terrorists — is for all nations, including the U.S., to begin down the path toward total nuclear disarmament.
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Jimmy Carter is running again??
That's gonna depend on the shape of the electoral bell curve -- and how far right and left on the curve independents and lukewarm partisans consider the major-party candidates.
Traditionally, centrist third-parties have a pretty narrow sliver to work with, because both major candidates run to the center as soon as they're nominated. And on top of the typical challenges facing third parties, Nunn has been largely out of the public eye for more than a decade; Cuomo-Nunn is a Democratic dream ticker -- if you're dreaming it's 1988.
Oh, this is such exciting new! (Excuse my yawn!)
Oh, this is such exciting news! (Excuse my yawn!)
Nunn hasn’t been relevant in 15 years.
Sounds “Third Party” to me. If he were any different, why would he need to run as an Independent?
The best we could hope for would be that he would take votes from the Dem nominee, whomever that might be. If he took 5% of the vote it’s another Pubbie in the White House.
You are absolutely correct.
www.unity08.com
It would be exciting if he took a few percentage points away from Hillary and put a Pubbie in the White House for four more years.
Remember, had it not been for Ross Perot, we’d never had Bill Clinton and had it not been for Ralph Nader, we’d be saying “President Gore” today.
Was it Sam Nunn, or Les Aspin, who screwed up the allocation of Bradley fighting vehicles for our men in Somalia and thus made “Black Hawk Down” possible because they used un-armored Humvees instead?
Nunn doesn’t have a prayer. I would bet any sum that the next president will be either a democrat or republican. Any takers?
L am with you there.
Just what we need. A Nunn running the country. Maybe it is just what we need.
I hope that Sam Nunn gets into the Presidential race and offers the voters a real choice.
I hear that all of Florida’s dem delegates are available :)
Check out this link to an interesting column that a Georgia conservative wrote for Human Events about a possible Sam Nunn candidacy.
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21928
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