Beltway Bullfight - (John Bolton is blunt where others would be self-protective. This is bad?)

OPINION JOURNAL.COM ^ | APRIL 28, 2005 | PEGGY NOONAN

[CHARLITE]

The case of John Bolton is about politics (unhousebroken conservatives must be stopped), payback (you tick me off, I'll pick you off) and personality. People who have worked with him allege he is heavy-handed, curmudgeonly and not necessarily lovably so.

I don't know him, but I suspect there's some truth in it. Do the charges disqualify him to serve as American ambassador to the United Nations? If reports of his behavior are true--he is tough, pushes too hard, sends pressuring e-mails and may or may not have berated a coworker as he threw paper balls at her hotel door--the answer is no.

Bad temper is a bad thing, but in government it's a flaw with a long provenance. Bob Dole once slammed a phone down so hard it is said to have splintered. Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos tells us, used to go into "purple rages." There is a past and possibly future presidential candidate who would regularly phone one of his staffers at home and ream that person out by screaming base obscenities. (I was impressed to learn the staffer felt free to respond in kind, and did.)

Harry S. Truman, as president, once threatened in writing to kick the testicles of a journalist (a music reviewer who had been nasty about the talents of Truman's daughter). Lyndon Johnson would physically crowd people and squeeze their arms painfully as he tried to get them to do what he wanted; in his case arm-twisting was really arm-twisting. Richard Nixon is said to have snapped to an aide who came to him with some issue, "You must have me confused with somebody who gives a sh--." He also physically pushed and humiliated his press secretary, Ron Zeigler.

[goldstategop]

Liberals hate John Bolton because he doesn't pass the buck like the new sniveling President on "24" who has to wait for an expert opinion before deciding whether to save the country from nuclear annihilation. Taking a stand is exactly why the Left hates Bolton. He's just too onery decisive for them.

(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)

[goodnesswins]

Liberals cannot stand opinionated people.....who stand up for what they believe.....unless of course, it's THEIR opinons!

[Daryl L.Hunter]

If they don't like Bolton I think that we should give them Ashcroft, he comes in handy like that.

Citizens For A Freer America & The Upper Valley Free Press

Daryl L. Hunter - Editor