On NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, during a roundtable discussion of Barack Obama's running mate possibilities, correspondent Andrea Mitchell argued that one of the "minuses" for Obama choosing former Democratic Senator Sam Nunn would be that Nunn is "anathema to the gay and lesbian community" as she seemed to portray the "young Bill Clinton" as a victim who had the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays in the military "shoved down his throat" by Nunn and then-Joint Chiefs Chairman Colin Powell in 1993. Mitchell: "Minuses: He is anathema to the gay and lesbian community because of 'Don't ask, don't tell.' He's tried to moderate his position, but it was he and Colin Powell who shoved that down the young Bill Clinton's throat in 1993, as a new President. So there are large Democratic interest groups who would rebel at the convention if Sam Nunn were the nominee." (Transcript follows)
While the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy is a relatively moderate position that falls in between the more conservative former policy of actively outing gays in the military, and the more liberal policy originally advocated by Bill Clinton of allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the military, it is also notable that Mitchell described Nunn as trying to "moderate" what is already a relatively moderate position, which would actually move him in a more liberal direction on the issue.
Below is a transcript of Mitchell's comments from the Sunday June 22 Meet the Press:
ANDREA MITCHELL: Sam Nunn told me on MSNBC, "implausible but not impossible," was his phrase. "Implausible but not impossible" that he would be the nominee. Pluses and minuses: Foreign policy experience, the nuclear threat reduction. Minuses: He is anathema to the gay and lesbian community because of "Don't ask, don't tell." He's tried to moderate his position, but it was he and Colin Powell who shoved that down the young Bill Clinton's throat in 1993, as a new President. So there are large Democratic interest groups who would rebel at the convention if Sam Nunn were the nominee. But with Bob Barr in the race, insiders are saying, take a look at those numbers. With Bob Barr in the race, Sam Nunn could make the difference and could carry Georgia.














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"Nunn is 'anathema to the
June 22, 2008 - 15:59 ET by Chris Norman"Nunn is 'anathema to the gay and lesbian community'"
Oh, please. Like they're all gonna go running to McCain...
Deep throat
June 22, 2008 - 18:25 ET by Big WallyLike BJ was going to allow our Military to resemble the parade of weirdos that assemble in SF daily!
(Please don't start flaming
June 23, 2008 - 18:55 ET by Cureboy675(Please don't start flaming me. Because all I'm trying to do in this particular post is agree with you)
Speaking as a gay guy, your statement is quite right and Andrea Mitchell is quite full of it.
I will never hold Bill Clinton in high regards because he back-pedalled
on the "gays in the military" thing....Yet I still voted for him in 1996. And while I am none-too-pleased with Senator Nunn's role in the whole thing...Would I suddenly run right over and vote for John McCain because Obama made Nunn his VP? Of
course not!
Get a grip, Andrea.
"I don't want your 'us or them'..." -- The Cure
He's tried to moderate his
June 22, 2008 - 16:09 ET by bigtimerHe's tried to moderate his position, but it was he and Colin Powell who shoved that down the young Bill Clinton's throat in 1993, as a new President.
Shoved that down young bill Clinton's throat?
Oh please...give me a break here...
Surely you jest...too much fun could be had with this line when it comes to the Come-Back Kid.
"Never murder your opponent when he is committing suicide." ~ W. Wilson
Yeah (snicker)..... is
June 22, 2008 - 17:26 ET by MidAmericaYeah (snicker)..... is Andrea: 1.clueless 2.frustrated 3.calculating
Interesting choice of
June 22, 2008 - 17:50 ET by robert108Interesting choice of imagery.
EW!!!
June 22, 2008 - 18:05 ET by mostlymoderateEW!!!
Imagery
June 22, 2008 - 20:11 ET by NortoI missed it the first read, but the headline caught me on my second visit!
Wasn't that one of the first things he struck to the pdd along with setting aside the oil? Might as well have nationalized it for all the good our reserves are doing us, especially here in the Northeast.
President Clinton was truly an embarrassment to the office. You see, I never say he wasn't MY President. Liberals do it all the time with this admin.
I always wondered where
June 22, 2008 - 20:40 ET by Captain RepusI always wondered where Slick Willie the immoral came up with that 'shoving down someone's throat' concept. I guess it was Nunn and Powell who gave him the idea, huh? I must admit, he perfected it to a tee later in his administration, didn't he.
Did they use a cigar?
June 23, 2008 - 11:10 ET by c5thenThe day that "politician" became a career choice is the day we started losing the Republic. Let's get it back! Alan Keyes '08.
backwards?
June 23, 2008 - 14:04 ET by wizardjrThe way I understood our esteemed ex-President, I thought that line seemed backwards. What do I know?
Was there a blue dress shirt involved?
;-))
Mitchell is the ANAL in "analysis"
June 23, 2008 - 18:34 ET by GalvanicANDREA MITCHELL: . . . But with Bob Barr in the race,
insiders are saying, take a look at those numbers. With Bob Barr in the
race, Sam Nunn could make the difference and could carry Georgia.
If Barr is running, he may take some % of the vote from McCain. But if Nunn is Obama's VP candidate, the choice is still between Obama and McCain, and McCain doesn't lose any votes. Nunn is much closer to McCain in political orientation than he is to Obama, but Obama is the radical liberal vying for the POTUS chair.
The pundits and idiots like Mitchell (choose one) love to ponder the value of a VP's state. The fact is that VP Al Gore couldn't even carry his OWN state in the 2000 Presidential race -- a circumstance that cost him the election -- and VP candidate John Edwards did not secure his native North Carolina for his running mate Kerry in 2004, which cost Kerry the election. Recent history proves that geographic analysis of the VP selection is irrelevent, but a twit like Beltway Boob Mitchell will cling to it.
Shoved down whose throat?
June 23, 2008 - 21:06 ET by Anchor89Excuse me, wasn't Bill Clinton the Commander in Chief? So who was running the country exactly, Sam Nunn? Oh, I get it! When Bill did something the liberals liked he was brilliant and commanding . When he did something the liberals didn't like, he was forced into it by the bad conservatives. How convenient. Sooooo, in which category does Monica fall???
I guess now that Hillary is out of the picture, it is ok to apologize for Bill once again.