May 13, 2005|By Julie Hirschfeld Davis | Julie Hirschfeld Davis,SUN NATIONAL STAFF
WASHINGTON -- In a partial victory for President Bush, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted yesterday to send John R. Bolton's nomination for U.N. envoy to the full Senate, but failed in the face of blistering opposition from a Republican to endorse him.
The rare move, which came after a debate of more than five hours that featured two Republicans joining Democrats in harshly criticizing Bolton, paved the way for the embattled arms control official's likely confirmation by the Republican-led Senate.
At the same time, it amounted to a vote of no-confidence in Bolton and a severe rebuke to Bush, who has defended his chosen U.N. ambassador in the face of charges that he has bullied subordinates and manipulated intelligence to suit his conservative ideological bent.
The White House issued no official statement after the vote, but spokesman Scott McClellan told reporters yesterday afternoon that Bolton "is exactly the kind of person we need at the United Nations."
"He brings a lot of unique qualifications to the position and a great amount of experience and passion, and sometimes a little bluntness," McClellan said. "But the president believes that's exactly what is needed at the United Nations during this time of reform."
Even as Republicans expressed optimism that Bolton will soon be confirmed, Sen. Barbara Boxer, a California Democrat, announced plans to try to delay the nomination.
But it was Republican opposition that injected a note of drama and unpredictability into yesterday's committee session. It forced Sen. Richard G. Lugar of Indiana, the chairman, to abandon his plans to win endorsement of Bolton's nomination and instead settle for a lukewarm party-line vote that sent it on without a recommendation.
"It is my opinion that John Bolton is the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be," said Sen. George V. Voinovich, an Ohio Republican whose strongly worded statement opposing Bolton made it clear that there was not enough support in the committee to approve him.
Intentions revealed
A rapt audience of senators and administration officials listened in seemingly stunned silence as Voinovich revealed his intentions, which he had kept under wraps since he first voiced reservations about Bolton last month, prompting Lugar to delay the panel's vote until yesterday.
Bolton's "is not the behavior of a true leader who upholds the kind of democracy that President Bush is seeking to promote globally," Voinovich said. "This is not the behavior that should be endorsed as the face of the United States to the world community."
Democrats, who pushed for the panel to reject Bolton's nomination, warned of a drawn-out battle in the full Senate that would further undercut Bush and his chosen U.N. envoy.
"We may be damning with faint praise here," said Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. of Delaware, the senior Democrat. "In light of what I expect is about to happen, the president of the United States would be better served by Mr. Bolton's nomination being pulled down."
Even that intensely bitter debate could be delayed for some time. Boxer said she would move to block Bolton's nomination until administration officials provided documents Democrats requested as part of the panel's extensive investigation into his conduct.
The Californian is demanding classified transcripts that Bolton requested of National Security Agency intercepts, internal State Department documents about Bolton's disagreements with intelligence agencies about assessments of Syria's weapons programs, and a list of the clients of a private consultant to Bolton.
There was little warm praise of Bolton from either party yesterday, as the panel plodded through hours of painstaking closing arguments that rehashed accusations against Bolton.
Most Republicans said the probe of the Baltimore native's past -- which included roughly 1,000 pages of transcripts from 29 witnesses, more than 800 government documents, and in-person questioning of Bolton spanning seven hours -- revealed nothing that would disqualify him for the U.N. post or outweigh the wide latitude a president should have to choose his team.
"The picture is one of an aggressive policy-maker who pressed his missions at every opportunity and argued vociferously for his point of view," Lugar said in a lengthy defense of Bolton. "His blunt style alienated some colleagues, but there is no evidence that he has broken laws or engaged in serious ethical misconduct."
Others said Bolton's brash manner was just what was needed at the United Nations, which they said is rife with corruption and desperately in need of reform.
"We are not electing Mr. Congeniality. We do not need Mr. Milquetoast in the United Nations. We're not electing Mr. Peepers to go there and just be really happy, and drinking tea with their pinkies up," said Sen. George Allen, a Virginia Republican. "We do need a straight talker, and someone who's going to go there and shake it up."
