Saturday, September 09, 2006

The End of the Line?

Steve Clemons, who has followed Ambassador John Bolton's UN career more closely than anyone, reports that it is "highly unlikely" that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will favorably report Bolton's nomination to the floor of the Senate. Bolton's chances of confirmation are, in other words, dead.

Bolton, you may recall, was given a recess appointment by President Bush on August 1, 2005, after he failed to gain Senate confirmation on that occasion. Shortly before his most recent confirmation hearings began, a number of UN diplomats made their displeasure with Bolton public, too.