WASHINGTON (Wednesday, October 29, 2003) — Retiring Democratic Sen. Zell Miller (search) has backed his horse in the 2004 presidential election — President Bush.

"The way I see it is, that these next five years are going to be crucial in determining what kind of world my grandchildren and great grandchildren live in, and I don't want to entrust that to any of these folks that are running out there on the Democratic side. I'm going to vote for George Bush," Miller said in a taped interview for Fox News' "Hannity & Colmes" (search) show.

Miller, the one-term senator from Georgia who has supported Bush on issues from Iraq to judicial nominees to tax cuts, said he doesn't plan to become a Republican, but he will back one against any of the nine Democrats seeking to unseat Bush.

"I think that George Bush is the right man in the right place in the right time," the former governor said. "I think he's got some [Winston] Churchill (search) in him. He understands the history of freedom. He knows where it came from, and he's not afraid to take sides. I loved him whenever he looked at the American people on Tuesday and said, 'We're not leaving [Iraq].'"

When Miller announced his retirement in January, he said that he was going to stay out of political campaigns. But Wednesday's endorsement demonstrated that he has changed his mind.

Miller said he would help Bush any way he can because "that's the kind of man I want in there as commander-in-chief."

This is Excellent:

A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat

by Zell Miller

• Hardcover: 256 pages


• Publisher: Stroud & Hall Pub.; (October 2003)


• ISBN: 0974537616

Zell Miller began his career in public service in 1959 with a term as mayor of Young Harris, Georgia. In 1960, he was elected to the Georgia Senate at the age of 28. In 1974, he won the first of four consecutive terms as Georgia’s lieutenant governor. Then in 1990, Miller ran for governor and won the first of two terms he would serve as the state’s top leader.

Miller’s HOPE Scholarship program was dubbed by the Los Angeles Times as "the most far-reaching scholarship program in the nation.’’ His pre-kindergarten program won an award for innovation from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard.

After leaving the governor’s office in 1999, Miller taught at Emory University and at his alma maters, the University of Georgia and Young Harris College. Five books have been written by Miller, including "Corps Values: Everything You Need To Know I Learned in the Marines." He also served on several corporate boards before joining the Senate, where he now serves.

Excerpted from A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat by Zell Miller. Copyright © 2003. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

And so, Mr. Miller went to Washington. I wish I could say the experience has been like Jimmy Stewart’s in ‘Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.’ I wish I could say that I found Washington all I had ever dreamed it to be, the place where the great issues of the day are debated and solved, and great giants walk those hallowed halls. I so wanted Robert Louis Stevenson to be wrong when he wrote, "It is better to travel hopefully than to arrive."

Unfortunately, what I discovered in Washington... read more

Book Description

With the growl of the Marine sergeant he was, Senator Zell Miller leaves no doubt that he believes his own Democratic Party is badly out of step with most of the country and needs to shape up or ship out.

As part of a stinging critique of the Democratic Party, Miller outlines key positions on important issues that can again make the party relevant for the entire nation. From tax cuts to welfare, gun control to the environment, the arts to education, immigration to terrorism, Miller identifies values that make sense to a growing majority of Americans.

Miller’s candid analysis of the campaigns of Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton further underscores his conclusion that the Democratic Party can no longer field a serious presidential challenge.

Many party loyalists will not like what Senator Miller writes; yet his credentials are beyond question, for few Democrats have worked longer or stronger for the party and its candidates. Zell Miller has served in an elective office in each of the last six decades. When he left office as governor after two terms, he had an 85 percent approval rating, prompting the Washington Post to call him the most popular governor in the country. After getting to Washington, he became President Bush’s biggest Democratic supporter, but steadfastly refused to switch parties.

A National Party No More is a firsthand account from the enigmatic senator who has confounded his Democratic colleagues. Driven by conscience and common sense, Senator Miller names the self-destructive direction of his party and stubbornly pulls the Democratic family toward reform.

Senator Zell Miller does seem to have his head screwed on straight. It's refreshing to see a Democrat, particularly a Senator, who is a clear thinker and actually says what he believes.

What's left of the noble tradition of assertive liberal internationalism in the Democratic party is now gangrenous. The rot has gotten so bad that even some principled Democrats are amputating themselves from their own party. Retiring Democratic Senator Zell Miller announced on Thursday that he will endorse President Bush for re-election.

"This does not mean I am going to become a Republican," Miller said in a written statement. "It simply means that in the year 2004, this Democrat will vote for George Bush."

Miller's decision was prompted in part by his disgust with the Democratic presidential field. "It makes me ashamed. It's a disgrace for anyone to talk about - talk like that in a time of war," he told Fox News' Sean Hannity. "Using this war for political advantage can only give hope to our enemies. And when you do that, that's going to cost lives."

Miller's decision is the logical consequence of a party that, at the national level, has become consumed by appetite - for power, for payback, for partisan gain - and nothing more.

Take the Bush administration's billion request for undoing the damage of decades of Iraqi dictatorship and war. Whether they think the war was necessary or not, reasonable people of all political persuasions outside the arena of partisan politics understand that the task of reconstructing Iraq is immensely necessary.

If the United States were to "bring the boys home" now, Iraq would implode. America would be seen as not merely a bully (which is not always bad, but rarely good) but a bully with a glass jaw - which, as every thinking person must understand, would be an invitation to disaster of precisely the sort that left the World Trade Center in ruins.

Of course, except for the odd character actors at the left end of the screen in the Democratic presidential debates, the leading candidates do not say they are in favor of immediate withdrawal. Rather, they spew clouds of verbiage about why we need to have a "plan" and insist that until we have a "plan" we should not spend money on Iraq.

Senators John Kerry and John Edwards voted for the war but against spending any money on Iraq's reconstruction. Wesley Clark and Howard Dean - the Democratic frontrunners - didn't get to vote, but they hold similar positions on reconstruction. All four now take the position of "If Bush is for it, Democrats must be against it."

Even the noble exceptions of Richard Gephardt and, to a lesser extent, Joseph Lieberman - who voted for the reconstruction funds - often couch their positions in terms that show they want to be seen as close allies of the naysayers.

Of course, the administration does have a plan. And central to that plan is, well, spending money to rebuild Iraq. Exactly what does a good liberal have to complain about?

For decades, or even a century, we've been hearing a host of propositions from liberals. Crime and violence are symptoms of poverty. The United States must do more than simply drop bombs; it must alleviate the "root causes" of terrorism, hopelessness, etc. America must be internationally oriented, looking to engage the world and help the unfortunate. It is in America's vital interests to come to the aid of the downtrodden. And, most recently and relevantly, America must get into the business of nation building.

All of this has been defenestrated by a Democratic party leadership that no longer spouts its Clinton-era mantra that partisanship should end at the water's edge. Instead, as Miller notes, even as we are fighting a guerilla battle where the enemy defines victory not in military terms but in its ability to weaken American resolve at home, Democrats are crassly undermining the safety of our troops, the credibility of our nation and the integrity of their own political philosophy by giving the terrorists precisely the victories they crave.

Every single good thing about liberalism in foreign policy would have the Democrats seeking more money for Iraq, especially now that the U.N. supports our efforts. In the tradition of FDR, Truman, Kennedy and Sen. Henry Jackson, liberals should be the ones demanding that we send more teachers, more doctors, more librarians and more troops to protect them. They should be standing on the tarmac helping to load another shipment of soft-ice-cream machines and Ping-Pong tables bound for Fallujah, Tikrit and Basra.

They should support it because it's the "nice" liberal thing to do, and they should support it because any sober-minded assessment of our interests dictates that we need to do it. By not supporting our efforts for either reason, they advance the rot of their principles and resurrect the impression that liberals cannot be trusted on foreign policy.

But these Democrats don't care, or at least they don't care enough. They see each setback in Iraq as a political opportunity. And they should be ashamed. Just ask Zell Miller.

The Democratic Party is playing politics with the lives of Iraqis and our troops.

And that is reprehensible.

Good on you Zell.

I am so encouraged that a Dem. Senator would put aside Party Politics to give recognition to some truths!

Bush indeed is the man for this time. I f the US does not deal with the enemies of freedom now; freedom will be buried by those enemies.

The same opportunity was available before WW2, but France and Britain not only failed to step up to the plate; they sold out the Czechs, a valuable player!

If the Democratic Party wish to serve The United States; the Flagship of Freedom, they need Zells' insight!

I am 52 years old and have voted since i was 18, however I have never voted for Mr. Miller. After years of frustration with the politions we now have a Senator from Georgia that is not afraid to speak the truth about what goes on in Washington. Senator Miller's comment about the right man at the right place at the right time speaks volumes about his charactor and backbone. I wonder who Senator Miller feels will replace him and be strong enough to stand-up and be counted, we have nobody with the experence and backbone to tell the TRUTH. I am asking Senator Miller to please reconsider running for Senate. We all need a champion for the hard working people of noit only Georgia but America. Thank You David Hughes

I am 52 years old and have voted since i was 18, however I have never voted for Mr. Miller. After years of frustration with the politions we now have a Senator from Georgia that is not afraid to speak the truth about what goes on in Washington. Senator Miller's comment about the right man at the right place at the right time speaks volumes about his charactor and backbone. I wonder who Senator Miller feels will replace him and be strong enough to stand-up and be counted, we have nobody with the experence and backbone to tell the TRUTH. I am asking Senator Miller to please reconsider running for Senate. We all need a champion for the hard working people of noit only Georgia but America. Thank You David Hughes

I was born in Union County, Georgia and I think I know about the values instilled in us by our hard working ancestors. "My word is my bond" is one that I will never forget. This meant that a written contract was not required.

Senator Miller: Please remain in national politics so you can keep the liberals feet to the fire. We need you.

Thank you for your service to our country as a Marine and as a U.S. Senator.

Mr. Miller, you have renewed my belief that there are still some conservative democrats in our land. Most of the speech I hear on the news comes from the very liberal democrats that seem to miss the point of what our country is all about. There seems to be a lack of the desire for sovereignty and little patriotism. Thank you for being courageous to stand for what you believe is right, and voting for George W. Bush is definitely right.

not that there's anything inherently wrong with it, but the fact is he's a "stealth" jew trying to pass, as if he's ashamed of it.