Posted on 11/10/2006 6:00:59 AM PST by Mrs Ivan
President Bush suffered a fresh blow today as the victorious Democrats moved to oust John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations.
Democrat leaders made clear they would not endorse President Bush's attempt to keep the hawkish Mr Bolton in the key diplomatic post.
In what has been dubbed "High noon for the neo-cons," Mr Bolton looks likely to be the second high profile member to leave the President's team after the sacking of Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.
The mid-term elections saw the Democrats seize the Senate and the House of Representatives from the Republicans and they now have the muscle to block White House appointments.
Mr Bush appointed Mr Bolton to the job temporarily in August last year while Congress was in recess.
Under the constitution the appointment has to be re-submitted for Congressional approval.
But the Democrats, who regard Mr Bolton as a bully short on diplomatic skills, said his nomination was "going nowhere."
Democrat senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, who is expected to chair the Senate foreign relations committee, said: "I think John Bolton's going nowhere."
The row over his appointment was further evidence of the shift in the balance of power in Washington.
Despite promises by both sides for a more partisan approach - signalled in a staged meeting between the President and new House speaker Nancy Pelosi - behind the scenes the Democrats were starting to unpick a decade of Republican domination.
The Republican chairman of the Senate environment committee, who has questioned the science of global warming, is also expected to be replaced by a Democrat.
In Britain, former foreign secretary Sir Malcolm Rifkind questioned whether the verdict in Saddam Hussein's trial had been delayed to help President Bush in the mid-term elections.
The White House has dismissed such accusations as "preposterous." At a meeting with Ms Pelosi, the President made clear the shift in power would not hasten the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.
He said he would listen to all suggestions about Iraq except for pulling out troops before the mission was completed.
He HAS to, because the alternative is to be forced to withdraw from Iraq and give the jihadis the victory they seek.
Withdrawing from Iraq would be incalculably worse than withdrawing from Vietnam, because Charlie didn't feel the urge to follow us back here and keep killing Americans.
They don't like him because he is holding up funds and tied their getting paid to cleaning up all the corruption.
Unlike what you seem to think, being President involves doing real-world things that have real-world consequences, and there isn't any time to go a$$-hatting just to annoy others, no matter how much you dislike them.
I never believed that. I don't understand where that sentiment came from, that some kind of deal trading Rummy for Bolton had been struck. I made no sense to me in this real world, given the players and all the circumstances here.
The Democrats can and will do just that, unless they can get something better.
31,000,000 AINOs voted to stab the troops in the back. If ye want to prevent that, you're REALLY going to have to give up a bunch of other things.
Do they vote in party caucus for the leader of that party, or do they vote as a whole for the leader of the Senate they want?
Bush should nominate John Kerry instead. They either block him, and have to explain why (too French! oh, wait...), or vote him in and lose a Senate seat. With all respect to Mr Bolton, we lose nothing, and it would freaking hilarious to watch. And if they turn Kerry down, well OK, nominate Bolton again.
Thanks Mrs. Ivan for the thread.
It is a sad state of affairs. But, me being a Christian, it just means the Lord is coming back sooner, rather than later.
It is unfortunate that one of the leading Ds acting as spokesman said the nomination is DOA. That kind of attitude will do considerable damage to D prospects in '08. Just very darned unfortunate. Yep.
I like the way you think!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.