John Bolton: Lessons Learned

In what will hopefully be the last nail in John Bolton's coffin, CNN reported yesterday that British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained to Secretary Powell back in 2003 that Bolton was making it impossible to reach a deal on Iran's nuclear program. The British also managed to keep Bolton off the negotiating team that eventually convinced Libya to officially put an end to its nuclear ambitions. That America's closest ally didn't find Bolton qualified to do his job as Undersecretary of State for Arms Control should give a few Republican Senators the political cover they need to vote down his promotion in committee.

It is important to remember that we are only at this point because Democrats, from the beginning, fought hard against this nomination. What is surprising isn't that Bolton will eventually fail to be confirmed, but that it took so much effort and evidence to get Senate Republicans to give this nominee a second look.

Giving a President's nominee the "benefit of the doubt", as Republicans are now fond of saying, is one thing. But given the overwhelming evidence against Bolton's qualifications and temperament, it is very hard to see that there could be any doubt left. And yet, Bush and many Republicans still insist he should be confirmed out of deference to executive power despite these issues. So much for accountability.

As Jeffrey Dubner notes almost in passing today, the real lesson of the Bolton nomination is that Democrats need to push back even harder against some of Bush's more egregious nominees. After all, people like Bolton don't just represent the President; they represent us all. And it is in everyone's interest to see that obviously unqualified political hacks don't get a pass just because the President asks for one.