Fueled by frustration, President Bush continues to criticize Senate Democrats for playing their usual politics and halting the confirmation of John Bolton as the next U.N. ambassador. Interestingly enough, his label for the Senate Democrats’ conduct is both completely right and utterly wrong.
In some sense, the Bolton incident is politics as usual. As the administration is well aware, Democrats are strongly and openly opposed to Bolton’s nomination. Consequently, they have called in relevant witnesses and held numerous hearings in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
This should come as no surprise to President Bush and should be applauded by the American public. After all, deliberation and information gathering are the express purposes of Senate committees, so why all the impatient fuss? Senate Democrats and Republicans serve their constituents best when they consider all sides of the story and do not behave as a legislative rubber stamp for the White House agenda. While this process occasionally taxes the patience of presidents and citizens alike, it has become a valued part of the legislative institution.
Moreover, heightened deliberation seems especially appropriate in Bolton’s case. As reported in the New York Times, allegations against Bolton have included reports of frequent badgering of subordinates and ranged to acts of intimidation comparable to “an 800 pound gorilla devouring a banana,” according to former Assistant Secretary of State Carl Ford. Even Dick Cheney, a political intimidator in his own right, acknowledged a “tough, aggressive and abrasive” Bolton would take a particularly no-nonsense stance as the U.S. ambassador.
While practical reform at the United Nations is necessary, it is highly unlikely it will result from the diplomatic efforts of a man who has said, “There is no such thing as the United Nations. There is only an international community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the world and that is the United States.”
It is simply naive to believe Bolton will engage in the cooperative compromises necessary to achieve U.N. reform when unilateralism and even U.N. dissolution are his obvious preferences.
Bolton’s open contempt and brash behavior have attracted bipartisan attention and contributed to reservations on both ends of the political spectrum. It is notable that Democrats are no longer alone in their hesitation and that this delay is not a result of partisan “politics as usual.” In fact, Bolton’s confirmation has been shelved as a direct result of the loss of key Republican votes on the committee. What began as muffled hesitation of Republican Senator Lincoln Chaffee has now evolved into significant misgivings from four of the committee’s Republicans. The most recent addition to the voices of reservation is Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who agrees that the committee “did the right thing delaying the vote on Bolton in light of the recent information.”
If she and her fellow Republicans are experiencing misgivings after a few weeks of testimony, imagine the huge regret these Senators would possibly have faced after a few months of Bolton’s conduct as ambassador. The committee’s caution should therefore be viewed not as partisan but instead as practical and necessary.
Invoking language of partisanship and government inefficiency, Bush seeks to undermine the combined efforts of Senate Democrats and Republicans. However, trying to portray the delay as just another example of government dysfunction is unjust and inaccurate. It is true that nominations are delayed and filibustered for political reasons, but is extremely rare to see these tactics employed by a coalition from both sides of the political tracks — which is exactly why Bolton’s case merits special consideration rather than hasty name-calling. Trying to reach an impatient public that is easily frustrated by slow-moving politics, Bush still fails to hide what has become clear: Bolton is the wrong man for this important job.
Bush is right: the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is playing politics, but it’s politics at its best. With John Bolton’s confirmation on the line, they have good reason to engage in rare bipartisan cooperation and dedicated debate. After all, it is hard to serve on a foreign relations committee when you have none to speak of.
Sarah Howard ([email protected]) is a sophomore majoring in political science.
