“Blunt but effective”

Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger who served the Department for 27 years, defends the nomination of John Bolton as ambassador to the U.N. Eagleburger points out two of Bolton’s accomplishments with respect to the U.N. that have been obscured by the quest of Senate Democrats to find people to whom he once was mean. The first is his major role in pushing the U.N. to repeal its deplorable “Zionism equals racism” resolution. The second is his role in steering through the U.N. a series of critical resolutions supporting the liberation Kuwait following its conquest by Saddam’s Iraq.
Eagleburger regards the charge that Bolton mistreats subordinates as a smoke screen intended to conceal opposition founded on Bolton’s willingness to criticize the U.N. and other international organizations in no uncertain terms. As to the merits of the charge, he finds nothing in his decade of working with Bolton that would substantiate the charge. Nor does he see anything improper in challenging intelligence analysts with tough questions regarding their findings. In any case, “if John pushed too hard, or dressed down subordinates, he deserves criticism, but it hardly merits a vote against confirmation when balanced against his many accomplishments.”
The title of Eagleburger’s piece is “blunt but effective.” Though the Democrats center their objections to Bolton on the first trait, their real complaint turns on the second. They don’t want to confirm a nominee who will rock the boat at their pet institution. Hence the ridiculous game of “John Bolton, This Is Your Life.”