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Zell Miller: Then and now
September 2, 2004

Sen. Zell Miller, a Democrat from Georgia, delivered a blistering attack on Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry Wednesday night. It was reminiscent of his keynote speech in front of Democrats in 1992, when he criticized the first President Bush. (Photo by TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

New York, N.Y. — Georgia Sen. Zell Miller, keynote speaker at this year's Republican National Convention, also was the keynote speaker at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. Here's a look at some of the remarks he made 12 years ago and his statements Wednesday.

1992: "We can't all be born rich and handsome and lucky, and that's why we have a Democratic Party. My family would still be isolated and destitute if we had not had FDR's Democratic brand of government."

2004: "In (the Democrats') warped way of thinking, America is the problem, not the solution. They don't believe there is any real danger in the world except that which America brings upon itself through our clumsy and misguided foreign policy. It is not their patriotism - it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking."

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1992: "I made it because Franklin Delano Roosevelt energized this nation. I made it because Harry Truman fought for working families like mine. I made it because John Kennedy's rising tide lifted even our tiny boat. I made it because Lyndon Johnson showed America that people who were born poor didn't have to die poor. And I made it because a man with whom I served in the Georgia Senate - a man named Jimmy Carter - brought honesty and decency and integrity to public service."

2004: Democrats "claimed Carter's pacifism would lead to peace. They were wrong. They claimed Reagan's defense buildup would lead to war. They were wrong. And, no pair has been more wrong, more loudly, more often than the two Senators from Massachusetts, Ted Kennedy and John Kerry."

"For more than 20 years, on every one of the great issues of freedom and security, John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak and more wobbly than any other national figure. As a war protester, Kerry blamed our military. As a Senator, he voted to weaken our military. And nothing shows that more sadly and more clearly than his vote this year to deny protective armor for our troops in harms way, far away."

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1992, about the first President Bush: "Four years ago, Mr. Bush told us he was a quiet man who hears the voices of quiet people. Today, we know the truth: George Bush is a timid man who hears only the voices of caution and the status quo. Let's face facts: George Bush just doesn't get it. He doesn't see it; he doesn't feel it, and he's done nothing about it. That's why we cannot afford four more years."

2004, about the second President Bush: "George Bush understands that we need new strategies to meet new threats. John Kerry wants to re-fight yesterday's war. George Bush believes we have to fight today's war and be ready for tomorrow's challenges. George Bush is committed to providing the kind of forces it takes to root out terrorists. No matter what spider hole they may hide in or what rock they crawl under. George Bush wants to grab terrorists by the throat and not let them go to get a better grip."

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1992, why the first President Bush shouldn't be re-elected: "If the 'education president' gets another term, even our kids won't be able to spell potato. If the 'law and order president' gets another term the criminals will run wild, because our commander in chief talks like Dirty Harry, but acts like Barney Fife. If the 'environmental president' gets another term, the fish he catches off Kennebunkport will have three eyes. And folks, after January, George Bush is going to have plenty of time to go fishing. So much for the millionaire."

2004, why Democrats shouldn't criticize the second President Bush: "Now, while young Americans are dying in the sands of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan, our nation is being torn apart and made weaker because of the Democrat's manic obsession to bring down our Commander in Chief."

(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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