LA Times on Zell
(Via BOR) For some reason, the LA Times thinks Zell Miller has a few minutes left in his 15 minutes of fame. They're wrong. He doesn't.
Jim, at BOR, gives Zell a bit too much credit, in my mind. Zell has made clear his reason for remaining a Dem. He was born that way. Its a shame that Barney Frank won't be in the Senate to bring up that point in a debate on the causes of being gay. But more to the point, Zell is (not surprisingly) wrong. When I was born, my parents were Democrats. I, however, was not born a Democrat. I have a lot of things on my birth certificate ... party registration is not one of them. I am a Democrat because of free will. Zell Miller, on the other hand, may not seem to realize what free will is. Unlike Jim, I think Zell should make it official and switch. I think he can explain it to mom & dad when his time comes.
If one wants the best understanding of Zell, far less reading is needed. Ed Kilgore did a masterful job of it for the DLC. Zell seems to spend an inordinate amount of time worrying about people thinking he's not smart enough. He even makes sure to mention the now-famous story of Ray Strother auditioning for the Dukakis camp as a consultant, learning that Strother's accent made him appear less-than-impressive to the Boston mafia in charge of the Duke camp. It just boils down to a sense of martyrdom and the inability to shake the chip on Zell's shoulder. In light of that, I'm happy enough to call him a Republican.