"Not serving its constitutional purpose"

A rabidly yapping and snarling Senator Joseph Biden (left) goes for John "kiss-up, kick-down" Bolton's ankle during Senate Foreign Relations Committee scoldings hearings Tuesday and Wednesday. Note Bolton's instinctively protective posture re his unusually white, bushy mustache, which has come under attack from the left.

"Regardless of the outcome of the hearings, [John Bolton] has provided another valuable service," writes Otto Reich in a horse's-mouth op ed in The Wall Street Journal:

He has revealed Senate hearings to be the weapon of choice of vicious and anonymous staffers and their narcissistic bosses to engage in character assassination and ideological vendettas.

The Senate confirmation process . . . has become so politicized that it is not serving its constitutional purpose. I have strong opinions on the Bolton hearings in particular -- and Senate hearings in general -- since in the past two decades I have been confirmed twice by the Senate and smeared once.

It was stated repeatedly at the hearings that Mr. Bolton and I tried to get an intelligence analyst -- referred to as "Mr. Smith" -- fired, or tried to block his promotion or to get him transferred. I cannot speak for Mr. Bolton (though having known him since 1981, I can attest to his integrity). But I can speak for myself: In 2002, after consulting with many of my interagency colleagues about how to handle the loss of confidence in Smith's judgment, I most certainly did complain to Smith's supervisor about the consistently unacceptable quality of his work. My actions are now being distorted and attributed to Mr. Bolton in order to harm his nomination.

As we always say, don't confuse these folks with the facts. We had tried to watch the hearings in C-Span reruns but just got fed up with the same old, same old -- Joe Biden's and Barbara Boxer's and other Democrats' tired, gratuitous attacks on the nominee's character, alternating with Republican fawning. Scott Ott caught the tenor of the hearings at ScrappleFace yesterday with his scoop re Bolton's much-maligned mustache:

Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-CA, continued her verbal assault on President Bush's nominee for U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. today -- this time questioning the source of Undersecretary of State John Bolton's mustache.

During a withering barrage of rhetorical questions, Sen. Boxer told Mr. Bolton that he needs anger therapy and virtually accused him of stealing the prodigious, light-colored, facial growth from a junior analyst at the CIA.

"We know you're a bully," the California Democrat said. "Given your track record of abusing the little people, this committee would like to see some proof that your alleged mustache isn't a battle prize torn from the lip of one of your pathetic victims. I want to see the DNA comparison."

Mr. Bolton deflected the question and politely thanked the Senate committee for its "substantive review" of his qualifications.

A bullying, barking Boxer really DID call Bolton a "bully," adding "I think Mr. Bolton needs anger management at a minimum, and he does not deserve to be promoted." If you're looking for "substantive review," we suggest you look elsewhere.

Comments

[Jeff]

Is it just me, or is Boxer the most obnoxious woman in DC (aside maybe from Nancy Pelosi).

Also, I like Bolton's mustache. It adds character and also serves to catch crumbs for between meal snacking.

[andophiroxia]

I am so ashamed that she is from California.