AJC.com > Opinion > Opinion Talk > Archives > 2008 > June > 11
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Nunn as VP?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Washington Post and Newsweek columnist George Will says Barack Obama could win Georgia if he chooses former senator Sam Nunn as his running. But Washington Post editorial page staffer Jonathan Capehart argues that Nunn might be a poor VP pick because of Nunn’s record on gays in the military.
“As Sen. Barack Obama considers potential running mates, he should contemplate Sam Nunn with caution,” writes Capehart. “As chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee in 1993, Nunn helped lead the fight against allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly in the military and was the force behind the disastrous “don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise. In the process, Nunn engendered the enduring enmity of a loyal voting and fundraising bloc of the Democratic Party.”
He continues: “Famously, Nunn led lawmakers on a tour of cramped submarine quarters and showers, an exercise that many viewed as a crass attempt to raise an ick factor of homosexuals living among straight troops. As if gay men and lesbians are devoid of discipline and incapable of defending this country.” Read full column here
Is this a problem for Nunn? Should Obama pick him as a running mate?
Permalink | Comments (18) | Post your comment | Categories: Forum
Blacks subdued about Obama win?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
St. Simons writer Tina McElroy Ansa says the reaction among African Americans to Barack Obama’s nomination clinch was subdued, considering its historic nature.
“I must still wonder why I, like so many of my brothers and sisters, am still hesitating to light the fireworks, unequivocally celebrate this milestone in our multicultural combined journey for what it says about our country and our citizens,” she writes. “Am I just too afraid to hope? Too jaded to believe? I hate to even consider it, but am I such a whipped dog that when I’m allowed a comfortable spot in the sun and a gentle smile, I’m too cowed to accept it, to believe it, to dare hope?”
Has the reaction been subdued and if so, why?
Permalink | Comments (188) | Categories: Forum
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
