Recess Appointment of John Bolton as Ambassador to the U.N.

Mr. Bolton nor President Bush have kept it a secret that the intent behind Bolton's appointment as U.N. Ambassador was to force the issue of reform. The problem, of course, with the Bolton appointment began to come out during the Senate confirmation hearings. Republican members of the Senate became some of the most vocal opponents to Bolton's confirmation. The administration would have the American people believe that the confirmation process was being held up by the 'obstructionist Democrats,' but that was NOT the case in the least.

Rumors were running rampant that Colin Powell, formerly Bolton's boss, and Richard Armitage, formerly Asst SecState, were working behind the scenes--giving Senators a thorough knowledge of Bolton's background and behavior patterns--to ensure that Bolton did not receive confirmation. A key Senator in the fight to defeat Bolton was close Bush supporter and ally John Voinovich of Ohio. Would these influential members of the Republican Party really have spoken out against Bush's nominee if there were not SERIOUS character flaws? Of course, the most serious flaw in Bolton's character was his inability to deal with his subordinates in a professional manner. If the man is unable to deal with subordinates professionally, then how can we expect him to deal with the Ambassadors of other nations professionally and civilly?

The great problem with Bush's recess appointment is that, more in this case than in any other, the President has usurped the balance of power; he has removed the confirmation process from the Senate in order to place an incompetent ally into a place of power. Certainly, all presidents have used recess appointments to place their nominees into office, but I know of no other appointment that has been made exclusively to flaunt an ideological agenda at the American people.

This appointment goes too far. It is time for moderate Republicans to stop thinking about political power structures and to start thinking about the good of the nation. For moderate Republicans to continue to support the ideological agenda of the far right does the nation an injustice at a time when the nation needs unity more than ever. The far right agenda offers division and confrontation, not unity and not justice.

Now is the time for the moderates and the liberals to come together to govern the nation in an effective way. A government not based solely on an ideological agenda, but based on what is best for the country and what is best for its citizens. If the recess appointment of John Bolton does nothing else, it should create the realization NOW rather than LATER that the administration of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney is not looking out for ALL of the citizens of the United States, but is instead following a far right wing ideological agenda. This agenda is designed to help 1% of Americans (I'll let you guess who they are), abandon the middle class, and return the U.S. to a time when Social Security, Medicare, and other entitlements were not a 'burden' to the country. Do we really want to destroy some of the greatest anti-poverty programs ever known to man? Let Bolton's appointment be a wakeup call to all of us!