Immediately after Zell Miller’s now-infamous keynote address on Wednesday, Dick Cheney said, “I’m glad Zell Miller is on our side.”
That was then. The Republicans aren’t nearly as pleased about having Miller on their team today. Indeed, the GOP has gone from beaming pride for having a “Democrat” give their keynote address to “Zell who?” in record time.
As it turns out, it took Zell Miller about three years ago completely sell out the Democratic Party, but it took the Republicans about one day to completely sell out Zell Miller.
After gauging the harsh reaction from Democrats and Republicans alike to Sen. Zell Miller’s keynote address at the Republican National Convention, the Bush campaign — led by the first lady — backed away Thursday from Miller’s savage attack on Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, insisting that the estranged Democrat was speaking only for himself.
Oh, now I get it. The man who was touted far and wide as the reigning hero of the convention, the loyal “Democrat” who had seen the GOP’s light, the veteran lawmaker who was given the great honor of delivering the party’s keynote address, he was speaking “only for himself” at the Republican National Convention.
This is genuinely hilarious. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving bunch.
The evidence of the sell out was everywhere.
First, when Laura Bush was asked about Miller’s speech, the First Lady said, “I don’t know that we share [Miller’s] point of view.” She later described Miller’s viewpoint as “interesting.”
Second, Miller was quickly uninvited from the convention’s VIP suite.
Late Thursday, Miller and his wife were removed from the list of dignitaries who would be sitting in the first family’s box during the president’s acceptance speech later in the evening.
Don’t worry, there’s a perfectly logical explanation.
Scott Stanzel, a spokesman for the Bush campaign, said Miller was not in the box because the campaign had scheduled him to do too many television interviews.
But that doesn’t make any sense — there were no television interviews during Bush’s speech.
Also yesterday, John McCain said Miller’s invective may cost Bush votes.
McCain (R-Ariz.) said the keynote address by Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) could prove as controversial as a speech by Pat Buchanan at the 1992 GOP convention in Houston.
“I think it backfires,” McCain said of Miller’s rhetorical assault on Kerry. He added that it “makes Buchanan’s speech … look milquetoast.”
So, to recap, Zell Miller has betrayed his Democratic friends and is a pariah in Dem circles. At the same time, he’s humiliated his Republican friends and will be persona non grata in GOP circles until after the election.
A once proud and accomplished man has destroyed his own legacy. I don’t hate Zell Miller; I pity him.