Former Senator Sam Nunn Considers Third Party Run For President
August 20, 2007 | Permalink
Speaking to The Atlanta Journal Constitution, former Georgia Senator Sam Nunn, a Democrat, indicated that he’s interested in running for President as an independent:
“It’s a possibility, not a probability,” said Nunn, now the head of a nonprofit organization out to reduce the threat posed by nuclear, biological and chemical weaponry. “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.’”
Recognizing the challenges that he would face as a third party candidate, Nunn hopes that a run for president would at least offer him the ability to shape/influence foreign policy as well as gain attention for his cause of reducing stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.
Concerned about the future, growing international frustrations with the United States and the Iraq War, Nunn said:
“[The Iraq War is] A fiasco, which we’ve basically mishandled in all directions. We’ll get over it, because we’re a strong country, and we’re indispensable in the sense that we’re the [world] leader. But right now, it’s going to take at least 10 years to rebuild U.S. credibility.”
“Nor has the Bush administration been able to create the necessary climate to make it easy for the world’s Muslim population to isolate jihadist terrorists.”
“We’re in a race between cooperation and catastrophe. And to get cooperation you have to have a vision, and you have to listen. And we’re not perceived as having a vision in this country, and we’re not perceived as listening.”
Nunn served as a Senator from Georgia for 24 years. During his time he was a fairly conservative Democrat, who was able to cross party lines on a range of issues from social 
to national security. He’s incredibly well respected in the field of national security, so much so that he was often discussed as a possible running mate for John Kerry during the 2004 campaign. His previous ability to cross party lines, his credibility on the major issues of our time and the presence of Unity08 (and/or Bloomberg’s billions) certainly leave open the possibility that Nunn could be more than just a blip on the political radar screen. Earlier this month, Nunn confirmed meeting with Mike Bloomberg, which he described as follows:
“We’ve had conversations about frustration with the fact that the process is flawed. I’ve told him … it may be time for some serious people to look at what I call a time-out and having people of good faith in the Democratic and Republican parties to come together and address the issues that the parties don’t seem to want to address.”
At this point, it’s not clear that Nunn will even be running. All we know is that: 1) he does not intend to make his decision until winter 2008, at the earliest; 2) he will absolutely not accept the VP slot on a Republican or Democratic ticket; 3) there’s definitely an independent minded undercurrent in the political waters that is still largely overlooked by just about everyone and could end up being very influential in the 2008 election.
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PLEASE RUN. The Country needs you….
I will work on your campaign in OHIO.
Sam Nunn could perform a real public service by running and forcing the major party candidates to focus on the important issues rather than just playing to single issue constituencies.
THANK GOD!
I have been asking “where is Sam Nunn?” for the last ten years.
When I first moved to GA. in the early 70’s he seemed a dangerous saber rattling rightist Democrat. He now seems to be an experienced, reasonable & reflective voice of moderation… says allot about the intervening thirty some odd years.
A Sam Nunn candidacy could be the best thing to happen to this country in a long time.
Senator Sam,
We need a new approach to both foreign and domestic policy to stem the tide of the fear that is gripping our nation. We need strong, experienced, thoughful leadership. Please consider the possibilties.
‘We The People’ do not trust the FED’s. I’d love to submit Sam’s name to Lou Dobbs but . . . what is his position on the fence? First hurdle for any Independent.
Sam Nunn has been out of the lime light for a great period of time…he is going to make his decision to run for president in winter of 2008. I have read that Sam is closely associated with the CFR and very pro SSP and NAU. Each of these organizations are reasons I would hope people would steer clear of Sam Nunn. Although it may not matter if the citizens of America vote for him or not. In the past, elections were held in the month of November. Sam plans to announce his decision in the winter of 2008 which would be in December…does he know something we do not know? Will there be a November election or will a state of emergency be declared and a figure appointed by outside forces…
[...] Bloomberg, when talk of a Bloomberg run was in vogue (but that’s soo yesterday) and there was also talk of him running as an independent a while back. Last month, an article Newsweek named Nunn as a [...]
[...] Bloomberg, when talk of a Bloomberg run was in vogue (but that’s soo yesterday) and there was also talk of him running as an independent a while back. Last month, an article Newsweek named Nunn as a [...]
Dear Senator Nunn:
Joe Scarborough (R) contributor MSNBC just told us that were you on the same ticket with Senator Obama you would be “unbeatable”. We respect your disinclination to run as a vice president; however, we urge you to rethink this decision IN THIS PARTICULAR INSTANCE as it would not be just any vice presidential position. He and we need you. We must have a White House that thinks like you do, that works to restructure the damages of the past many years, and has the future of the global family at heart.
Thanks for listening.
YES!! Please do run! Also maybe you can help get something done about the about the bills (HR5977 and S2910). The truck drivers are getting eaten alive by the high cost of fuel. But also this isnt only a truck drivers nightmare it is also the nightmare of everyone. Even yourself depends on the truck drivers more than you know….just who gets your milk to you…who gets your fruits and veggies to you…etc. etc. These bills are forgetting the fuel sur charge back to the truck driver! The truck driver is paying paying $5 per gallon and getting back .06 cent or .08 cent per mile from the brokers! This needs to be changed!!!….We need to get 100% of the fuel sur charge. Why should the broker get 90% of it when they are doing nothing. I as an owner/operater just payed $7000 dollars to get my truck fixed when in 8 runs I made $3500 take home. How am I suppose to live and get you and the american people the products that they need ?