" Bush, Bolton to Congress: Screw You!"

[GreenPartyVoter]

"Bush, Bolton to Congress: Screw You!"

We may regard him as a dunderhead, the original jerk dressed up as the president of the United States but one thing is certain: George W. Bush loves exercising his power and never hesitates to do so when he has half a chance.

His latest slap in the face to Congress, the recess appointment of John C. Bolton ambassador to the United Nations, demonstrates that he loves the power granted to Congress by the Constitution only when he can speak of it in the lofty words provided by his speech writers or, as in this case, cram it down the throats of his opponents. Who needs the advice and consent of the Senate anyway? Consent doesn't mean agreement does it? Or maybe I'm just disassembling...

How much more power can the man want anyway? His party controls both houses of Congress and the 28 of the statehouses, including those of the largest states and, paradoxically, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the most Democratic of the blue states. The GOP's successful bid to consolidate its power by controlling all possible the avenues to the White House can be seen in the intense though quiescent pressure on all the lobbying firms in the capital who have been advised that they will be granted access to the administration only if they do not represent any Democratic interests. Yet he conveniently forgets that almost as many voters opposed him as voted for him: 59,028,111 for Kerry, another 1,224,611 for Nader and other third-party candidates for a total of 49.27% of the vote, versus 62,040,610--50.73% of the vote for Bush. 1,787,888 votes do not make a mandate.

Bush's attitude can only be understood through the lexicon of sports: Football's sudden death means that your team takes home the Superbowl trophy; the go-ahead run in extra innings can make you the World Series Champions. Bush regards this as a game. The win obliterates the other side. For Bush as for Green Bay Packers the late coach Vince Lombardi, "Winning isn't everything; it's the only thing."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0802-33.htm
*************************************************************

"John Bolton: Ugly Face on Ugly Policy"

Bush has now gone and given John Bolton a recess appointment as US ambassador to the United Nations.

So be it.

At least now there’s an ugly face on an ugly policy.

Bolton represents, in his bullying personality, the bullying approach that so typifies Bush’s manner in the world.

Bolton represents, in his false testimony to the Senate, the deceitfulness that is the trademark of this crowd.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0802-32.htm
***********************************************************************

"The Bolton Embarrassment"

When the United States sought to be a true world leader, as opposed to a petulant global bully, this country's seat at the United Nations was occupied by great men and women. Consider just some of the amazing figures who have served as U.S. ambassadors to the international body: former Massachusetts Senator Henry Cabot Lodge Jr., two-time presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson, former Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg, former Pennsylvania Governor William Scranton, former civil rights leader and Georgia Congressman Andrew Young, academics and public intellectuals Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Jean Kirkpatrick, Madeine Albright and Richard Holbrooke, former State Department aide and New Mexico Congressman Bill Richardson, former Missouri Senator John Danforth.

These ambassdors came from different parties and from different ideological backgrounds, they had different styles and different goals, but they had one thing in common: They served with the broad support of official Washington and the American people. When they spoke, they spoke for America. And they did so in a tradition of U.S. regard for the mission of the UN, which was perhaps best expressed by an American who served for three decades as a key player in the world council, Ralph Bunche. "The United Nations," said Bunche, "is our one great hope for a peaceful and free world."

To make that hope real, U.S. ambassadors had to be both strong and pragmatic advocates for the best interests of their own country and visionaries who recognized that all United Nations member states merited at least a measure of diplomatic regard. As Adlai Stevenson, who capped a brilliant career in American politics by representing his country at the UN during some of the hottest years of the Cold War, explained, "The whole basis of the United Nations is the right of all nations--great or small--to have weight, to have a vote, to be attended to, to be a part of the twentieth century."

Needless to say, John Bolton has never expressed any sentiment regarding international affairs or the United Nations so well or wisely as Stevenson. Bolton is a hack politician, a career retainer of the Bush family who is famous for nothing so much as his disrespect for the diplomacy and international cooperation in general, and for the United Nations in particular.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0802-31.htm

[whistle]

1. You just reminded me, where is Ralph Nader anyway?....

....I don't think that schmuck has shown his pandering face since the 2004 election where he got how many votes? One percent? Three quarters of a percent?

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Actually he still has letters and articles published on Common Dreams

so he's still around.

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0730-27.htm

And these are his articles on The Nader page: http://www.nader.org/public_interest.html

[bryant69]

3. It's kind of pathetic really.

President Bush despite winning reelection last year and despite having a Republican House and a Republican Senate, was unsure of his ability to get Bolton Passed and sure that he didn't want Bolton to have to answer questions. So he took a cowards approach.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Well he knows that he didn't really win and probably neither did many of

the Repubs on the Hill who live in Diebold territory. Hence his reason for ramming Bolton through. He knows he doesn't really have a paper thin margin let alone a mandate.