An audience with Perry, Georgia's own - "one of the most significant and impactful public lives in American history"

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"Sam Nunn is a consummate political insider who has cultivated close personal relationships with members of the Washington establishment," a New York Times magazine writer said in 1987, when Nunn was a leading candidate for president.

Along with our Georgia Public Broadcasting team, I chatted with former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn (1972-1997) inside the Georgia Tech building that bears his name. 

Beyond the front doors, walls are lined with display cases of Nunn memorabilia and photos chronicling one of the most significant and impactful public lives in American history. 

Among the framed photos of world leaders with Senator Nunn, there's President Carter in the late 1970’s White House.

As the nation's 39th president approaches his 100th birthday in a few weeks (October 1), Senator Nunn is one of the increasingly few Carter contemporaries still with us in 2024.  

President Carter is the longest living chief executive in history. 

Senator Nunn was raised in Perry, population 10,000. President Carter in Plains, population 573.

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Senator Nunn was raised in Perry, population 10,000. President Carter in Plains, population 573.

Georgia hamlets separated by only 49 miles of asphalt. Giant lives spawned from these very small, nearby communities. 

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In 1987, when Senator Nunn was a leading candidate for president, The New York Times Magazine featured Senator Nunn. Phil Gailey wrote: “There are important differences between the Senator and the former President, of course. Jimmy Carter was an outsider, but Sam Nunn is a consummate political insider who has cultivated close personal relationships with members of the Washington establishment.”

“But there are also similarities," Gailey’s New York Times article continued. "Both Carter and Nunn are technocrats, masters of complex detail.”

I asked Senator Nunn about President Carter as the centennial birthday approaches. 

Senator Nunn: “I first met him when he was running for congress. That was his first effort to get started nationally. He did a great job in the state senate. He was running against Bo Callaway in the 3rd district, before the race was over he switched and ran for governor. I supported him, and then four years later I supported him again as he ran for governor."

Hullinger: “But 1972 presented a challenge to the relationship.”

Nunn: “I ran for the U.S. Senate and won against the man Governor Carter appointed for the job, David Gambrell; a fine person of integrity. We [Governor Carter] did not have the height of cordiality at that stage. There was natural tension. But to the credit of Governor Carter, he supported me vigorously in the general election. A tough year for Democrats in Georgia, when Nixon won 76% of the vote with McGovern in the state.”

On President Carter

Nunn: “I really got to know him after he was president. We traveled to China to monitor an election in rural villages. I saw up close how disciplined he was. He would get up very early. I left for South Korea one morning at the urging of President Clinton, so I decided to slide a note under President Carter’s hotel room door. The light was on at 4:30 a.m. . He was sitting at his desk writing in his diary what had happened the previous day. The villagers had never seen a Chinese leader nor a U.S. president. He was treated heroically by crowds.”

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On Carter's Strengths

Nunn: “He had tremendous focus, discipline. He understood an awful lot about people.

On Carter and Race

Nunn: "I thought Carter was extraordinary on race, along with Andrew Young and Dr. King. Carter helped bring the races together. He was remarkable in that regard. Carter changed the trajectory of the races in Georgia, and the country. He also changed the image of southerners, southern governors, and southern leaders. It was one of the reasons he was elected president."

On Carter and Faith

Nunn: “His faith propelled him more than any of us really know. It gave him tenacity, absolute focus to take a really tough road to the White House from where he came. He had no federal experience, no Washington experience."

"it made him more conscience of civil rights and human rights. His stand on human rights became a part of U.S. leadership around the world. Jimmy Carter really believes we are all part of God's creation. We were blessed in Georgia to have him as governor and president.”

Senator Nunn is 86 years old. He exercises every day, and is careful with how he eats. In two years, The USS Sam Nunn will be commissioned by the United States Navy.

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In the months ahead, Jeff Hullinger will share his wide-ranging interview with Former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn on GPB.