U.S. Sen. Zell Miller, Georgia's rebellious Democrat, said Tuesday he
will campaign at President Bush's side throughout the year.
Miller's first task in trying to seal the Republican president's
re-election grip on his crucial Southern base will be to introduce Bush
at a $2,000-a-head fund-raiser Thursday in Atlanta.
The lame-duck senator is to be accompanied by "other Georgia Democrats"
who also will endorse the president, according to the Bush-Cheney
campaign. But Bush officials would not identify the other Democrats.
Miller first endorsed the president for re-election in October.
High-ranking Republicans said discussions about an active campaign role
for the former Georgia governor proceeded from there.
"I think it was more or less understood. I'm not very much of an
inactive person," Miller said Tuesday in a telephone interview. "I have
said and strongly believe that the next five years will be crucial for
the America my children and grandchildren will inherit. I want a
commander in chief like George Bush. I want a man who doesn't suffer
from analysis paralysis."
Miller, who in his first term as governor gave the keynote address at
the 1992 Democratic National Convention that nominated Bill Clinton for
president, said he doesn't know where or how he will be used by the Bush
campaign. He would not rule out appearances in television ads generated
from the $131 million already raised for the president's re-election effort.
"We are grateful for Zell Miller's support and look forward to
campaigning with him over the next 10 months," Bush campaign spokesman
Reed Dickens said. Miller also would act as "a top surrogate for the
president," Dickens said.
State Democrats were somber, if not sullen, at the development.
"It's disappointing, but it's old news," said state Rep. Calvin Smyre
(D-Columbus), who is stepping down as Georgia party chairman.
Bobby Kahn, a long-time ranking Democrat and a candidate to replace
Smyre, said: "Senator Miller spent four decades building the Democratic
Party in Georgia. He's undoing all of that in the twilight of his
career, and it's a sad thing to watch."
Bush polls strongly in the South, but Miller's assistance could be
crucial in Florida, for example, which still is considered competitive.
One top Republican said Miller could become an important figure in such
states as New Mexico and Arizona and in parts of the Midwest.
"This is a huge help for President Bush," said Merle Black, an Emory
University political scientist who has studied the rise of Republicans
in the South. "It's very interesting that [Miller] is even doing this."
Less than two years ago, Miller cut TV ads for a host of Democratic
candidates in Georgia, including Gov. Roy Barnes, who was ousted in the
2002 election by Republican Sonny Perdue.
Black said Miller registers very well with the 10 percent of
conservatives who identify themselves as Democrat and that he could be
the one to lead them into the Republican fold -- although the senator
himself refuses to switch parties.
Miller will introduce Bush in the same Georgia World Congress Center
ballroom where on Monday evening he heaped praise upon the president in
front of 1,500 members of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The senator
had just returned from a week-long tour of Iraq.
Each person attending the Atlanta dinner received a copy of Miller's new
book, a scathing critique of his fellow Democrats titled "A National
Party No More."
In his speech, Miller compared Bush to legendary British Prime Minister
Winston Churchill and condemned "Hollywood weenies" who opposed the war
against Saddam Hussein.
"Sometimes, a short war must be fought to prevent a longer war," Miller,
a former Marine, said. "Sometimes, the long view of history must be taken."
