The Bolton Boondoggle

The title of John Nichols' article in the current issue of The Nation pretty well sums it up: The Bolton Embarrassment.

Here are a few quotes from the article about the man foisted by Bush upon the nation and the world:

"(Former US ambassadors spoke) "in a tradition of U.S. regard for the mission of the UN, which was perhaps best expressed by an American who served for three decades as a key player in the world council, Ralph Bunche. 'The United Nations,' said Bunche, 'is our one great hope for a peaceful and free world'."

"Bolton is a hack politician, a career retainer of the Bush family who is famous for nothing so much as his disrespect for the diplomacy and international cooperation in general, and for the United Nations in particular.

"So creepy has been Bolton's partisanship -- he was a prime player in moves to shut down the recount of Florida votes following the disputed 2000 presidential election -- and so crude has been his behavior that thoughtful Republicans such as Ohio Senator George Voinovich determined that the nominee would not be an appropriate representative of the United States. But President Bush has forced Bolton on the U.S. and the UN... Bolton will serve differently than his predecessors. For one thing, he is neither the intellectual nor the emotional equal of those who came before him. For another, he will be seen as a representative only of the Bush White House -- not of the United States or its people."