The American Mind

Conservatives like Michelle Malkin are laying it out to make sure John Bolton remains U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Steven Taylor doesn’t get Boltonmania. I do. Bolton is a fighter. He’s aggressive in defending U.S. interests in a body that is indifferent or worse in opposition. True believers like fighters more than non-fighters even if the latter end up accomplishing more. It’s similar to the love affair Left-wing webloggers have with Ned Lamont and Sen. Russ Feingold.

At a moment when Donald Rumsfeld was replaced with Bob Gates, someone from President George H. W. Bush’s less-conservatively aggressive administration, some conservatives worry the current President Bush is getting wobbly. To them Bolton remaining as U.N. Ambassador would signal the administration still had some muscle.

But Professor Taylor is correct. There weren’t the votes to confirm Bolton in a GOP-controlled Senate let alone in this environment. Is President Bush willing to expend some of his now seriously-reduced political capital on a U.N. Ambassador? I doubt it. The Democrats know it, the Republicans know it, and I’m sure Bolton knows it. Bolton’s term will expire without confirmation, and the administration will nominate someone else. With the casualties from last week’s elections there should be some nominees that could past muster. Rick Santorum, for example, spoke strongly about foreign policy/national security during his campaign. He would make an interesting choice conservatives would eagerly support.

“Well, at Least He Spelled My Name Correctly…”