Zellig Miller; Flip Floppin Chameleon

[mburbank]

"Listing all the weapon systems that Senator Kerry tried his best to shut down sounds like an auctioneer selling off our national security. ... For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak, and more wobbly than any other national figure."
—Sen. Zell Miller, Sept. 1, 2004

"My job tonight is an easy one: to present to you one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders—and a good friend. ... John has worked to strengthen our military. ..."
—Sen. Zell Miller, March 1, 2001

[Anonymous]

I'm still laughing about his explosion at Chris Matthews.

[Mockery]

No shit, Zell is INSANE.

Democratic Sen. Zell Miller was tough on his own party's presidential nominee, but things got even hotter when he all but challenged an interviewer to a duel.

Fresh off a speech to the Republican convention that blistered Sen. John Kerry, the Georgia senator engaged in a raucous television interview with Chris Matthews. The host of MSNBC-TV's "Hardball with Chris Matthews" is known for an aggressive, rapid-fire interviewing style, and the two men interrupted each other several times as Matthews pressed Miller on barbs he had just launched at Kerry.

"I wish we lived in the day where you could challenge a person to a duel," the 72-year-old Miller angrily told Matthews, 58.

Miller was at the Madison Square Garden convention site and Matthews was at an MSNBC set several blocks away, so there was no chance of a physical confrontation. But at one point, the senator told Matthews, "I wish I was over there, where I could get a little closer up into your face."

[FS]

Zell then went on to say that "his personal record was five opponents at once" and that "Matthews may have the weapon of his choice, save that it must be a melee weapon. I am proficent in the bulk of them."

He then went on to doodle mammoth-breasted women on a cocktail napkin.

[KevinTheOmnivore]

Zell Miller is an idiot.

[mburbank]

I'm not familliar with Matthews, he's not what you'd call a lefty is he? I think he should offer to box Zell for charity.

[Ant10708]

Matthews is just a guy who talks very loudly.

[Cosmo Electrolux]

people I used to think were intelligent were raving about Millers speech...how great it was. I hate Alabama :(

[Stabby]

I hate Alabama :(

Omg, you poor soul. I always wondered about the smart people who had to live in that state. It can't be all THAT bad I figured. Surely there are at least SOME intellectual, rational persons living there. :(

Matthews is a reasonable guy. He may have made it clear that he will be marking his ballot D in November but he never spouts out partisan politics or even remotly acts like a mouthpiece for any side. He just has a reputation for asking those dangerous follow-up questions to his guests. Obviously this is something the republican party doesn't condone.

But it is funny how the repubs never bring up Zell Miller's record (he has earned the nickname "ZigZag Zell" in his homestate) since they seemed obssesed with the notion that people shouldn't be allowed to change their mind and have to stick stubbornly to the same ideas in order to be considered "strong".

[GAsux]

I have had the good fortune of meeting several prominent politicians from the fine state of Geogria. Zell Miller was my least fov. by far. Saxby Chambliss seemed like a nice fellow, and Max Cleland who I met on several occassions was a very likable guy.

But Miller just sucked.

[Bobo Adobo]

His speech was fucking hilarious. I would love to meet him, and have the honor of him challenging me to a duel.

[Ronnie Raygun]

I have met him.

He's not so bad....I really haven't heard any valid arguments that discredit what he had to say....

That aside, how bad do you think his speech hurt Kerry..?

[mburbank]

I see his speech and his behavior afterward (wishing he could DUEL Matthews and talking about getting "UP IN HIS FACE) served the same sort of function Buchanaan's speech did for Bush Senior. I think having someone who's having trouble controlling himself delivering a keynote speech isn't a good thing.

As far as hurting Kerry Goes? I sincerely doubt it. I think Mccain favoring party loyalty over his knowledge of what a dirty fighter W and company are will hurt Kerry a lot more, and I don't think that will hurt him all that much. If Zell had said "You know, as a Democrat, I disagee with W a lot, but I think he's the better man for the job" he might have had some credability and done some damage, but to come off as too the right of every one of the previous nights speakers and to foam at the mouth and flip out at a reporter for daring to question him... To me he looked like an old guy who'd gone crackers. Everyone has the in their families. It's what makes Thanskgiving dinner such a scary prospect.

as far as the 'merits' went? hard to see them through the hot spittle, but... saying that nothing made 'This Marine' angrier than someon who saw America as occupiers instead of liberators'... I mean, is he aware that we accepted our role as occupiers, in a thorough and legal sense. And that W. never denied we were an occupying force... and that 'occupier' and 'liberator' aren't even mutually exclusive terms...

Aside from Redest of red meat Republicans, who would find that speech anything but kind of sad and scary?

[Ronnie Raygun]

Old moderate dems like Miller who have always respected him and have never voted republican in the past but now are at least considering it.

Lots of senior voters can relate to Miller.

What about those people?

[mburbank]

Democrats as angry and bitter as Miller aren't going to chang their minds. The guy who ruins every fmily get toogether is already voting for Bush even if three years ago he was calm enough to recall being a democrat.

No folks like, say, Jim Jeffords and Olympia Snow, centrists republicans who've may not like fiscal craziness and nation building but who can still go on TV without challenging anyone to a duel, those are what you call your swing voters, as in people who haven't made up their minds.

They see a raving old man up on stage foaming and spitting and basically claiming the only reason a democrat might want to ... shudder with me now... vote for a deomcratic president would be a fanatical desire to destroy Bush as opposed to thinking Kerry might do a better job... They might find that a kind of scary thing to endorse. Kind of an unamerican thing for the Republican party to be using as it's keynote speech.

I don't know, Nalds. This sounds to much like actual give and take. As a centrist democrat, maybe I should get up in your face and challenge you to a duel.

[Ronnie Raygun]

I think there are a lot of senior voters who respect Miller that will be swayed by his speech not to mention that it energized the republican base.

We had enough moderates at the convention to satisfy their constituency.

[ArrowX]

that man looked like he was about to fly off the podium and beat someone to death with the mic.

(Anyone else notice the Podium looked like a crucifix?)

[mburbank]

I'm certain the christian podiums were purely accidental. I mean, it's not like the republicans have an anal retentive focus on message over content.