A Bush League Ambassador

Today Bush said screw democracy, screw the U.S. Senate, screw the American public, and decided to make a recess appointment of John Bolton as this nation's representative of American values and foreign policy at the United Nations.

This is a shameful act by Bush. Bolton was a nominee with little support, and much to dislike by many Republicans and Democrats alike. If this was what Bush meant, following his re-election, when he said, "I earned capital in the campaign, political capital, and now I intend to spend it. It is my style.", then his is a "screw everyone else" style for sure.

Bush made a number of comments during the announcement of Bolton's recess appointment, an act that will put Bolton in the position for the next two years:

Because of partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators, John was unfairly denied the up or down vote that he deserves.

Actually, John Bolton was treated with complete fairness, in a process that has been applied to every nominee for U.N. Ambassador. It was the White House's own refusal to cough up important information about the nominee that caused a delay for an "up or down vote".

This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war

Wait a second, but we're back in a war now? Didn't the administration ditch the "war on terror" just the other day? Aren't we now in a "global struggle against violent extremism"? Is Bush still going to march out the "war" argument whenever it suits his purposes as this comment seems to indicate?

Ambassador Bolton believes passionately in the goals of the United Nations Charter

He does? So apparently Bolton must have simply been passionately pro-U.N. when he stated in 1994, "There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world and that is the United States when it suits our interest and we can get others to go along."

As he embarks on his new assignment, Ambassador Bolton will bring tremendous wisdom and expertise

Really? I guess that must be the kind of wisdom that produced this remark in which he stated in 2000, "If I were redoing the Security Council today, I'd have one permanent member because that's the real reflection of the distribution of power in the world."

Over the past two decades, John Bolton has been one of America's most talented and successful diplomats.

Yes, the kind of talent he displayed in threatening members of other people's staff, chasing down a U.S. foreign aid worker and throwing things at her, and just basically bullying his way through life. Mr. Bush wouldn't know diplomacy if John Bolton hit him over the head with it.

He's been a tireless defender of our nation's values

If tirelessly chasing a woman through a Moscow hotel to intimidate or physically abuse her is the kind of American value Bush and his Republican sycophants wish to promote, Mr. Bolton is their guy - no doubt about it. But he doesn't represent the America I want to live in.

John Bolton represents everything that is wrong about this administration and that the world rightfully believes is wrong about this country. If Bush indeed had any political capital to spend after the last election, he's gone and blown the whole lot in one fell swoop with this arrogant move. Shame on him, but shame on us all for allowing it to happen. (nwphtt59)