Fighting For The Center In Georgia Senate Race

COVINGTON, Ga. (AllPolitics, Oct. 14) -- No one here is thinking about the election quite yet. People have a homecoming parade and the big game for the Newton County Rams coming up. But the Senate race is a big game, too.

The players are Republican Guy Millner, 60, who made millions from temp agencies. He's conservative, and beat a more moderate rival in the primary.

Democrat Max Cleland, 54, is a triple amputee because of a grenade in Vietnam. He headed the Veterans Administration under Jimmy Carter. Where is he politically?

According to Millner, "My opponent was campaigning in 1994 for Ted Kennedy in Massachusetts. To a lot of people I come across...Ted Kennedy kind of says it all."

"I feel like I'm in what General Colin Powell calls the 'sensible center' of American politics," says Cleland.

"I am running against Senator Kennedy," Millner replies. "I'm running against a person that's is every bit as liberal as Sen. Kennedy."

Cleland is for abortion rights; Millner is against abortion. Millner supports vouchers so parents could send their kids to private schools. Cleland doesn't. Defense is important here; one plant has nearly 10,000 jobs, and there are a dozen military bases. Retiring Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn was a strong defense man.

"I believe," says Millner, "that Senator Nunn and I are right together on defense."

"I want a strong defense," Cleland replies. "I know what the dangers are out there." Democrat Nunn has endorsed Democrat Cleland.

Millner says Cleland has been an unreliable campaigner. "I cannot engage my opponent," Millner says. "The Georgia Farm Bureau invited us to Macon; he was a no-show and a no-cancellation. He just didn't appear."

Millner makes that charge regularly, but does not mention that the campaigns have scheduled three TV debates later this month.

The Millner campaign's toughest hit was the charge that Cleland helped free a killer who then killed again. "Max Cleland abused his political power and helped parole the son of a high-ranking Democrat official," an TV ad declares.

In fact, thirteen years ago, as Georgia's secretary of state, Cleland wrote the parole board, saying, "I hope you will grant the man every consideration for release." The state secretary of state has no role in the parole process. The parole board turned down Cleland's request then, but did free the convict six months later.

"The ad is a smear," Cleland says. "It's a distortion of the facts, and it's your classic negative attack ad that is designed to assassinate the character of the other person."

Millner's worst moment may have been when he had to resign, under pressure, from a WASPs-only club. At a County Commissioners' convention, Peach County's Ira Hicks said Millner refused to shake his hand. Speaking to Hicks later, Millner began a sentence by saying, "Well, son, uh, sir..." The phrasing, caught on videotape, didn't go over well with Hicks and is unlikely to go over well with his fellow black Georgians.

Polls have Cleland slightly ahead, but, according to political analyst Merle Black, "There's going to be a lot of money spent in the closing weeks of this campaign on television, and while I think Cleland has the advantage -- he's the very clear favorite right now -- we might see an upset in Georgia."

If voters in places like Covington can be convinced Cleland is a centrist, he'll probably win. They'll decide after the big game, of course.

Fighting For The Center In Georgia Senate Race

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