Mild-Mannered John Bolton
That description certainly seems to fit the President's UN Ambassador-designate - especially when compared to the raving assholery of some of his senate detractors (originally reported in the Weekly Standard).
Doubtless that's just the tip of the iceberg. And we know for a fact from last year's campaign that John Kerry is a certified jerk.
The Democrats may rue the day they cold-cocked Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar into delaying the vote on Mr. Bolton's nomination an extra three weeks, given the smear gambit to which they had to resort. Just as with the assault by their House counterparts against Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Senate Donks have way too many skeletons in their closets of the very sort that they're trying to hurl at Mr. Bolton, and this extra time is providing ample opportunity for the blogosphere and talk radio - aka the New Mainstream Media - to dig them up and get the word out. The end result is that their rank hypocrisy is shifting public focus from their targets to them, and any momentum they may once have had toward defeating Mr. Bolton is rapidly dissipating.
In politics, as in war, if you're low on ammunition, you have to make every shot count. Two weeks ago was when FRC Dems had their best shot at defeating the Bolton pick, but they didn't finish it off. Now they've shot their wad, and their clips are empty.
It brings to mind another old saying: Don't hunt what you can't kill.
• Senator Ted Kennedy once blew up at his staff after finding out they hadn't completed work on a bioterrorism bill he favored. As stunned witnesses looked on, Kennedy turned on his aides and barked, "You bastards - get it done!"
• Just weeks after the 9/11 attacks, a group of pilots and flight attendants met with Senator Joe Biden in hopes of getting him to support emergency benefits for laid-off airline employees. Biden listened for a few minutes, then shot back:
"I hope you will support my work on Amtrak as much as I have supported you. If not, I will screw you badly."
• Then there's Senator Hillary Clinton, who - although the media never report it - is notorious for reaming out her underlings. According to Gary Aldrich's book "Unlimited Access," a health insurance lobbyist says things turned ugly when he met with the then-first lady to pitch an idea for her Hillarycare plan.
After keeping the lobbyist and several health company executives waiting for an hour, Hillary finally walked into the conference room, slammed some papers on the table and then erupted: "Gentlemen, I have looked at your proposal, and it's pure bullshit. You've had your meeting - now get out!"
Doubtless that's just the tip of the iceberg. And we know for a fact from last year's campaign that John Kerry is a certified jerk.
The Democrats may rue the day they cold-cocked Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Dick Lugar into delaying the vote on Mr. Bolton's nomination an extra three weeks, given the smear gambit to which they had to resort. Just as with the assault by their House counterparts against Majority Leader Tom DeLay, Senate Donks have way too many skeletons in their closets of the very sort that they're trying to hurl at Mr. Bolton, and this extra time is providing ample opportunity for the blogosphere and talk radio - aka the New Mainstream Media - to dig them up and get the word out. The end result is that their rank hypocrisy is shifting public focus from their targets to them, and any momentum they may once have had toward defeating Mr. Bolton is rapidly dissipating.
In politics, as in war, if you're low on ammunition, you have to make every shot count. Two weeks ago was when FRC Dems had their best shot at defeating the Bolton pick, but they didn't finish it off. Now they've shot their wad, and their clips are empty.
It brings to mind another old saying: Don't hunt what you can't kill.
posted by JASmius at 10:48 PM
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