Bye Bye Bolton

John Bolton's out at the U.N.

Bowing to reality for once, the Bush Administration has realized that, with a new Democratic Congress about to take power, this craven bully is not about to be confirmed. So Bolton has resigned as U.N. Ambassador, a job he was about as suited for as I am to be the head of the RNC (or a prima ballerina, for that matter).

TIME.com reports that:

A longtime critic of the U.N. and its bureaucracy, Bolton was opposed by Democrats, and even a few Republicans, who regarded him as too confrontational for the job, and he was unable to win support in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee when Bush first nominated him last year. Rather than accept that rejection, however, the President gave Bolton a "recess" appointment in August 2005, allowing him to take up the high-profile U.N. post without Senate approval.

But with that appointment set to expire at the end of the current Congress and a new Democratic majority about to take control, Bolton announced his resignation Monday. President Bush, in a statement, continued to express support. "I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate," Bush said. "They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their nation."

What a crock of pious crap.

Bolton's departure will not, no matter what the White House says or may believe, discourage men or women of talent from serving their nation. What it says is that President Bush can't violate the will of Congress and the procedures set out in the Constitution and try to sneak an unsuitable appointment in through the back door. John Bolton was a symbol of this administration's arrogance and hubris -- its feeling that they can do anything they want without having to be accountable to anyone for their actions.

Well, they learned otherwise, and John Bolton is now leaving, hopefully to replaced by someone more suitable for the position -- presumably someone who doesn't violently abuse his subordinates while servilely sucking up to his superiors.

It's a huge (albeit mostly symbolic) victory for democracy in this country.

Tom Moran