Another vote of confidence in John Bolton

More warm words for the Bush administration's nominee to be UN ambassador. One senator had the following kind words to describe Bolton.

"This administration can do better than that."

Bolton is "the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be."

"No one really is excited about him."

"I have come to the determination that the United States can do better than John Bolton,"

"What message are we sending to the world community?"

The senator said Bolton would be fired if he was in the private sector.

Some might say that Bolton's obnoxiousness and gratuitous rudeness is merely "frankness" or "openness." Most jobs aren't that of America's #2 diplomat.

Some say that the UN needs an American representative who is "plain spoken." Except people not only tend to dislike bullies, but they tend not to respect them either. America's international credibility has taken a battering precisely because of the Bush administration's contempt for, well, anyone who doesn't lick its boots.

Far from helping our credibility and respect (as Richard Goldstone so eloquently advocates here), nominating a boor like Bolton will only strengthen international perception that the Bush administration is hell bent on spitting on the rest of the world. The American reputation for bad behavior, worsened since Bush took office, will only be further reinforced.

At the end of the day, it really won't matter that much if Bolton is approved or not. If he's voted down, the Bush administration will only nominate someone even more oafish instead.

Bush appointee John Danforth, the most recent UN envoy, was a decent ambassador. He was critical of the UN but more or less fair about it. I didn't always agree with him but I respected him. But perhaps that was his problem, in the eyes of the Bush administration and its lackeys. They don't do fair. [see previous entry]

By the way, the above votes of confidence in Bolton were made not by "obstructionist" Democrats or whiny liberals, but by Republican Sen. George Voinovich.


Update: Even the committee chairman, Republican Sen. Dick Lugar, gushed, "Secretary Bolton's actions were not always exemplary" and "His blunt style alienated some colleagues. But there is no evidence that he has broken laws or engaged in serious ethical misconduct."

He isn't very good but we can't prove he did anything technically illegal.

The administration has such high standards!

And it's worth adding that Lugar is a SUPPORTER of Bolton.