Is Nunn Really the One?

By Margaret B. Carlson

To many Democratic Party leaders, Michael Dukakis and Sam Nunn would make such a perfect pair in the fall election that the big question has become not whether Dukakis will offer the taciturn Georgia Senator the second spot on the ticket but whether Nunn will accept it. Some have even suggested a two-for- Nunn scheme: If being a heartbeat from the presidency and riding Air Force Two are not enough, how about throwing in the Defense Department or the National Security Adviser's job? Now there are signs that Nunn might be more interested than his poker face would suggest. Senators who accompanied him on a trip to the Soviet Union in April came back convinced that he would accept a Dukakis invitation. "The pressure will make it impossible for him to refuse," said Republican William Cohen. They say he is "intrigued" by the idea of a combination role, although he is not certain it would be practical.

But even if Nunn is willing, the less explored question remains: Is he the best choice? Geographically, the answer is yes. Intellectually too, Nunn fills gaping holes for the Massachusetts Governor, who seems to think a Midgetman is someone shorter than he. An acknowledged arms-control wizard, Nunn can move the pieces of the Pentagon around in his head as if it were a giant G.I. Joe set. He practically reorganized the place in 1986 as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

But if Nunn balances the ticket geographically and militarily, he might knock it out of alignment domestically. Nunn was one of 13 Senators who opposed bringing up legislation in 1975 to renew the 1965 Voting Rights Act, although he voted for a bill in the end. In 1982 Nunn voted to renew the act, but he supported an amendment by South Carolina's Strom Thurmond to limit its extension to 15 rather than 25 years. Nunn voted against ending a filibuster holding up a fair-housing bill in 1980, opposed a 1978 move to extend the ratification period for the Equal Rights Amendment, and has supported a constitutional amendment to limit abortion. In 1972 Nunn ran as an antibusing ! candidate and supported George Wallace for President. Nonetheless, he has long enjoyed cordial relations with Atlanta's black establishment, including such people as Andrew Young, John Lewis and Coretta Scott King. Their support for him as Vice President, however, could be tempered.

A key question is whether Jesse Jackson would approve of Nunn's selection. Campaign Manager Gerald Austin last week gave Nunn a qualified thumbs-up, while Campaign Chairman Willie Brown gave him a qualified thumbs-down. Trying to recover from a landslide (67% to 27%) loss to Dukakis in Pennsylvania, Jackson shook a verbal fist at Austin and chastised Brown for saying anything at all that might imply Dukakis is the inevitable nominee. Yet if Jackson became convinced it was the best way for the Democrats to win, he would probably get behind Nunn. At least for the moment, Jackson wants to be seen as a party unifier.

Nunn does nothing to balance the ticket in terms of charisma. Aggressively bland and boring, he insists on speaking his paragraphs in a Mister Rogers monotone. Nunn's only touch of vanity is the careful left-to-right sweep of hair to cover his expansionary bald spot.

Dukakis, who likes and admires Nunn, consulted him earlier in the campaign about conventional-military-force needs. But Dukakis' aides say he would balk at a Vice President with the Pentagon tucked in his portfolio. To someone like Dukakis, who prefers his organization charts neat, the arrangement would be messy. A Cabinet Secretary can be fired; a Vice President cannot.

With the Veepstakes becoming the only race in town, Nunn may get some competition. Attention has already begun to turn to a new old horse: John Glenn. Dukakis aides speak highly of the Ohio Senator as a national hero with no controversial baggage. He seems quietly willing; Ohio Governor Richard Celeste is lobbying strongly on his behalf. Like Nunn, Glenn has solid foreign policy credentials, and his state has eleven more electoral votes than Georgia has. However, he too could prove to be even duller than Dukakis in public speeches; he had trouble igniting popular passion in his 1984 presidential bid. But, as the 1988 primaries have shown, charisma may not be a prerequisite for national office this year.

With reporting by Hays Gorey/Washington and Joseph J. Kane/Atlanta