Bush should be laughed into hiding for calling Bolton foes "partisan"

[BurtWorm]

As Joe Conason points out, Bolton's most devastating critics are Republicans.


http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2005/04/22/bolton/print.html
<may require a day pass to read entire article>

Who's playing politics?
John Bolton's nomination isn't being derailed by Democrats but by dissident Republicans, who reflect even broader discomfort with Bush's choice.

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By Joe Conason



April 22, 2005 | In defense of John Bolton's nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the White House is once again exploring the boundaries of "reality-based" perception. The Bush administration and its allies are pretending that opposition to Bolton is strictly partisan and political. Yet what must be clear to anyone observing this process is that Democrats alone could scarcely have stalled Bolton, let alone inflicted what may be fatal damage to his nomination.

Indeed, despite unanimous Democratic misgivings about Bolton's rigid ideology and undistinguished record, he would be on his way to Turtle Bay by now -- except for the serious doubt and strong dissent expressed by Republican legislators and diplomats about his conduct, competence, honesty and temperament.

On Wednesday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan attributed the problems encountered by Bolton to "ugly" tactics by Democrats, whom he accused of "playing politics" on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a charge he repeated in his usual robotic style when reporters questioned his false narrative. "The accusations that are being made are unsubstantiated," he insisted at the White House press briefing. "Again, Democrats continue to raise them." Then on Thursday morning, the president echoed his spokesman's complaint, demanding that the Senate "put aside politics and confirm John Bolton to the United Nations."

If Bolton's prospects have been dimmed by "politics," however, the troubles appear to reflect a growing division within the president's own party. While Bush may not read newspapers, he must be aware that dissident Republicans, not Democrats, were responsible for the dramatic postponement of a confirmation vote in the Foreign Relations Committee. Reflecting their Senate majority, Republicans enjoy a two-vote advantage over Democrats on the committee, which naturally ensures a favorable vote for any Bush nominee only if the majority remains united....