Rep Caroline Cheeks Kilpatrick opened her mouth following a meeting with Obama’s Veep Vetters to let the world know Sam Nunn is one of the shortlisted names. But who is this former Georgia Senator – and what does this consideration say about Obama?
Congressional Credentials:
Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS)
Advisory Board Member of Partnership for a Secure America
Co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Georgia Senator (1972-1997)
-Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee (1987-1995)
-Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
-Member of the Intelligence and Small Business Committees
Background: Sam Nunn is from rural Macon, Georgia, where he grew up on a farm with a very traditional American childhood (having been an Eagle Scout and basketball star.) His great uncle is Carl Vinson, who served in Congress for over fifty years through WWI and Vietnam. Nunn went to Georgia Tech and Emory University for law, which he practiced before and after his political career. He’s currently married with two children.
His Agenda: As former staffer Ed Kilgore so aptly put it, “Sam Nunn is to the nuclear proliferation issue what Al Gore is to the global climate change issue.” The campaign issues have fluctuated from a “Let’s End the War” banner to a “Let’s Tackle the Economy” motif, but Nunn’s emergence on the ticket would certainly guarantee a shift toward foreign policy. When he endorsed Obama, Nunn stated, “Reducing the risk posed by weapons of mass destruction is not the agenda of one political party. It is a deeply held desire by leaders of vision and courage of every political stripe. We hope that others who are concerned about these issues will work with us on the large area of common ground that exists to find ways to reduce risks associated with these weapons.”
Foreign Policy Cred: Nunn served active duty in the US Coast Guards for one year, as well as six years in the US Coast Guard Reserve. Additionally, his entire resume is obsessively focused on foreign policy matters.
Domestic Policy Cred: Yeahhh… not so much…
Star Achievements: In 1994, President Clinton deployed military forces to Haiti to pressure Raoul Cédras to step down. Clinton also sent diplomats Jimmy Carter, Colin Powell and Sam Nunn to facilitate the Haitian despot’s departure and replace him with Jean-Bertrand Aristide. The mission was successful in getting rid of Cédras and averting a military strike as well, which has garnered much bipartisan praise for Nunn. Virginia Senator John Warner stated, “Senator Nunn quickly established himself as one of the leading experts in the Congress and, indeed, all of the United States on national security and foreign policy. He gained a reputation in our country and, indeed, worldwide as a global thinker, and that is where I think he will make his greatest contribution in the years to come, wherever he may be, in terms of being a global thinker.” As a senator, his landmark achievements include: the Department of Defense Reorganization Act and the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.
Possible Snafus:
Marginalizing pick? Sam blocked President Clinton’s 1993 proposal to allow gays to serve openly in the military, which might not go over so well with all Liberal Dems. However, just this year he admitted that “times change” and it may be time to “take another look” at the idea of gays in the military, indicating that he’s leaning more toward a centrist “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Out of touch? Since Nunn has been “retired” for over a decade, some wonder if he’s still got the “zest and enthusiasm” to be a successful wingman. Obama will need a fully committed VP who can be a partner or possibly the President one day.
Too “Big Business?” Nunn is currently a board member of Chevron, Coca-Cola, Dell Computers and General Electric – which, some say, could come under scrutiny.
Another Dick Cheney type figure? Someone once said Sam Nunn could be an “elder statesman” for Obama – much “like a Dick Cheney,” which could hurt Obama’s youthful vigor and message of radical change.
Just as Cheney sides with Neocons in a more iron-fisted position than Bush, Nunn is considered a Moderate-Conservative Democrat who is a loyal partisan on the Iraq War, the environment, abortion, gun control and affirmative action -- but sometimes breaks party lines on other social and political issues. For instance, he voted against Bill Clinton’s plan to raise taxes, against gays serving in the military and against the Gulf War. He voted in favor of school prayers, amending the constitution to require a balanced budget and limiting death penalty appeals. Nunn’s stance may win Obama some of the moderate votes but may also lose some of the young liberal votes.
VicePresidents.com Assessment…
As you know, there are different perceptions regarding what constitutes the ideal #2. The argument for Nunn -- as the VEEP nominee who’d best fill in Obama’s perceived gaps -- makes complete sense.
Sure, Nunn isn’t the candidate who’ll make women swoon or will bring in the extremely religious or the Latino vote… but he can definitely coax some of the more moderate Democrats.
Some fear that Obama is too liberal, while others fear he lacks foreign policy knowledge – to which, Sam Nunn is the answer.
For those pundits who examine geography and political pull, Nunn could help in a battleground state (Georgia), which has historically gone either way. Georgia hasn’t gone blue since 1992, politicos say.
If you’re thinking, “Well Obama has to choose someone he gets along with personally,” then Nunn again is a good fit. Obama met with Nunn back in February 2005 to discuss how to prevent the global proliferation of nuclear weapons and close colleagues say the two “really hit it off.”
Former secretary of defense William Cohen mentioned he thought Nunn would be “in the top three or four for Obama” because “he’s a Southern moderate-to-conservative with a tremendous background on security” who could “complement Obama’s tremendous gifts.” On June 4th, Jimmy Carter told The Guardian he favors Nunn for VP. The former GA senator has been mentioned in just about every major publication from the NY Times and Washington Post to Politico and Time Magazine as a top contender for VP, in fact.
Of course, this is nothing new. The New Republic reports that Nunn was mentioned as a possible vice president for Michael Dukakis in 1988 (Margaret Carlson, Time), for Bill Clinton in 1992 (Paul Gigot, Wall Street Journal), for Al Gore in 2000 (Chicago Tribune) and for John Kerry in 2004 (National Journal).
I think the cool thing about Sam Nunn is that he’s not afraid to go against the grain. He’s very much a free thinker. He spoke out against the Gulf War when it was unpopular to do so, but now -- in lieu of the Iraq War -- the world has bent to his opinion. He is not an unreasonable man, though. He’s calm, cool, collected and willing to at least consider what the opposition has to say, which is why he has fans from Henry Kissinger to Jimmy Carter. His focus and his credentials are very much relevant to the 2009 election, where the GOP is sure to hit hard on foreign policy matters.
Yet, at the end of the day, Obama will want a #2 that speaks to his “ticket brand” of: Change, Youth, Enthusiasm, Diversity and Liberalism. To see them together is sort of like the Odd Couple -- the young bright-eyed Senator Obama and the stodgy curmudgeon Nunn. Voters coming out of the wood works with renewed hope in the political process aren't looking for this sort of fatherly figure; but rather, they want a brand they can be excited about. Additionally, choosing Nunn would be a sign of insecurity and weakness, an admission that the GOP attackers are... well... right, in a way! It's probably best that Obama choose someone who isn't a one-dimensional, archetypical foreign policy crusader. While his experience is relevant, I would say Obama would be better served sticking Nunn in a Department of Defense or National Security type role.
