By Brian Bohl
Ironically, the same type of political maneuverings that allowed John Bolton to sweep into his job as United Nations ambassador also facilitated his exit from the position.
The White House announced Monday that Bolton will leave his position after the current Congress’ term ends later this month. President Bush blamed the resignation on “a handful of United States Senators [that] prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate.”
Citing unnamed politicians serves as a good face-saving strategy, but it masks the real reason why Bolton will no longer be working in the large secretariat building near the East River. Rather than wait for the next Congress to convene-in which the Democrats will now hold a slim majority in both the House and Senate-Mr. Bush originally tried to push a confirmation hearing through the current lame-duck session of the Republican-controlled Congress.
Monday’s announcement signaled a concession that the White House could not get enough votes and raised a white flag on the idea. Fittingly, Bolton’s United Nations career ended in a similar manner as to how it began. While Mr. Bush criticizes the Democrats for playing politics with an important job that is critical to the country’s international relationships, he circumvented the system to give Bolton the job in the first place.
The former Undersecretary of State for Arms Control during Mr. Bush’s first term, Bolton received the UN post on a temporary basis as a recess appointment in August 2005. That move was a way to prevent congressional oversight, which is a ploy that could not be sustained indefinitely. Should the president’s administration truly wanted that up-or-down vote, they could have went through the appropriate channels. Before a confirmation can go to the full Senate, it needed to pass through Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
While 10 of the committee’s 18 members are Republicans, including chairman Richard Lugar and University alumnus Norm Coleman, preliminary reports said Bolton would not have received enough support for his nomination passed to the next level, a fact confirmed by Rhode Island Republican Senator Lincoln Chafee on Nov. 9.
Not even a Republican-controlled committee would help Mr. Bush push through his choice, which is a telling indication. When your own party declines to endorse one of your moves, it’s difficult to turn around and blame the failure on partisan politics, but the President immediately went into full spin mode, once again labeling those with dissenting opinions as obstructionists.
“They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time,” Mr. Bush said.
When you can’t get a majority of 18 people to support you, it’s a stretch to say a 100-person body would reflect a different opinion. If the Republicans on the committee wanted Bolton, they had the capacity to send his nomination to the full Senate. They chose not to, and subsequently put a check on the executive branch.
This is supposed to be one of the best virtues of our democracy, but like a spoiled child who grows accustomed to having his way all the time, the President cries foul. He manipulates a loop hole in the nomination system while simultaneously saying Bolton’s the best man for the job, then criticizes representatives simply for not rubber stamping his decision. During his first six years in the Oval Office, Mr. Bush had favorable majorities in every branch of government, thereby allowing him to exert his policies with just minimal resistance.
A half decade and two wars later, the voters called for change this November, and already the White House is starting with the tantrums. It’s too early to say what impact Bolton had in his job. He did help broker a Security Council resolution that helped end the Israel-Hezbollah war and allow provisions for a UN peacekeeping force. Despite serving for longer than many experts initially expected, Bolton did not divulge any details on if he was asked to leave his position or chose to walk away on his own.
“After careful consideration, I have concluded that my service in your administration should end when the current recess appointment expires,” was the only insight Bolton provided in his resignation statement to the White House.
Whoever is named as the successor will need to continue the long-term process of curtailing North Korea and Iran’s nuclear ambitions, specifically in stopping the latter’s budding uranium enrichment program. Bolton’s been a major player in talks on those issues with the international community, but nothing substantial has been accomplished on those fronts.
Bolton did not perform terribly in his job, but elected officials on both sides of the aisle agreed it was time for a change and rightfully chose not to extend his term. Mr. Bush got his man into office through back-door politics. He now has no right to moralize about how the system prevents people from serving their country, as if the White House is not concerned with the red-blue divide. Playing politics worked to his advantage for most of his two terms, but like any sports fan knows, you can’t change the rules when you start losing.