Young Harris, Ga. – This afternoon's dedication of the Zell and Shirley Library on the small but scenic campus of Young Harris College was a complicated occasion.
Though formally a non-political event, it was stocked with multiple generations of Georgians who live and breathe electoral politics.
Presiding was Cathy Cox, the 2006 Democratic candidate for governor, who for the last seven years has served as the college’s president.
Former U.S. Senator Zell Miller was the star of the program. The library is recognition of his close ties to the institution, where he was on the faculty – but also where his family once had a house. He now lives within walking distance of the campus.
“I was conceived over there somewhere, about where the luncheon was held,” said Miller, pointing to one wing of a new, $41 million building that bears the name of the politically connected Rollins family – the dedication of which was also part of the ceremonies.
But also in the audience were the daughter-and-father team of Michelle and Sam Nunn, the would-be and former U.S. senator. Miller has endorsed Michelle Nunn in the Senate contest, but Republican incumbent Nathan Deal in the race for governor. The Nunns spent three hours at the event -- a large chunk of time in the final days of what could be a photo finish, but also a statement about the value of Miller's endorsement.
For the Nunns, this was kind of a rollout for a series of joint appearances. Sam Nunn made his TV debut today, in a 30-second spot intended to reassure voters that his daughter would be just as practical and bipartisan as he was.
“I have both sought his advice, and he’s also given it freely,” Michelle Nunn said in a brief sit-down with her dad. “That’s been true for 47 years, but it’s never been so true than in the last year. I have a great advisor in him.”
The former U.S. senator said that, as his daughter is tagged with being a toady for President Barack Obama, he was painted as a lacky for George McGovern, the Democratic presidential nominee when Nunn, a member of the state House, sought a promotion:
"It's different. It's brutal, but it was brutal back then. The independent feature of it is somewhat similar. I basically told people in Georgia in 1972 that I was going to make my own decisions and work with any president, whether Democrat or Republican."
Sam Nunn said while it is tough to see a daughter deluged with millions of dollars in negative advertising, he thinks she has coped quite well. But the father chafed at that “aid to terrorists” accusation that Republican rival David Perdue lobbed at Michelle Nunn:
"That was going beyond every line. There are some lines you don't cross. Basically, she disagrees with her opponent, but she doesn't think he ought to go to jail. She just doesn't think he ought to go to the U.S. Senate."
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