Bolton Bolts

Just as New Yorkers awoke this morning to find their winter heat wave had abated, so too did their President. John Bolton, the twice unconfirmed UN ambassador, submitted a letter of resignation in the face of continued bipartisan opposition to his appointment.

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It will be interesting to see if Bush appoints another retro-pol to the job just as he did by appointing James Baker to head the Iraq Study Group and Robert Gates to Secretary of Defense. If he reaches into his father's war chest for a better candidate Sen. Joseph Biden (D-Del), the new Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is very likely to at least give that person a hearing. Bolton, he said, was a "non-starter."

Bolton's resignation is no harbinger of bipartisanship and compromise. It's an easy way out of an impossible situation. Short of a miracle, there was no way Bolton could have been confirmed and Bush's only option was a sleazy manipulation of the process-- demoting Bolton to a deputy position that does not require confirmation without filling the role of UN Ambassador, thus making Bolton the de facto head of American diplomacy there. Two years ago Bush may have taken this sleazy step, but today he is saving his "screw you Democrat party" points for things like women's health.