Son of a fireman? Worked his way up?? Sounds like he was grounded in common sense and life experience before he even got to Yale.
Though Bolton supported the Vietnam War, he declined to enter combat duty, instead enlisting in the National Guard and attending law school after his 1970 graduation. "I confess I had no desire to die in a Southeast Asian rice paddy," Bolton wrote of his decision in the 25th reunion book. "I considered the war in Vietnam already lost."
Seems like all of our current leaders are guys who some how tipped toed around Viet Nam.
Huh. I don't find him controversial.
(steely)
I think the Yale Free Press really panned the Skull & Bones folk in one of their freshman guides to campus organizations.
I haven't seen any "persona" displayed by John Bolton that was anything other than subdued, thoughtful, and cordial.
The only evidence (if you could call it that) to the contrary are the dubious tales spun by the likes of partisan hacks like Melody Townsel, and disgruntled government bureaucrats.
I found it telling that Bolton kept his cool while under fire by Biden, Boxer and company, as they kept spewing and re-spewing their ludricrous sob-story that Bolton "got red in the face and pointed his finger!" at a poor widdle bureaucrat.
A lesser man than Bolton would've lost his temper right then and there.
This in a nut shell is conservatism. I was a college student during Goldwater's run for the presidency. I was a member of the "College Young Republicans" and campaigned tirelessly in the summer/fall of 64'. I haven't changed my politics one iota since then. The question I always ask myself is what is it that differentiates a conservative from a liberal. Not the easy answer where it's simply one's positions on particular policies and what candidate/party better exemplifies those policies. But what is it from a more philosophic perspective? In my opinion it boils down to two fundamental beliefs.
1. A belief in good and evil as real things that can be discerned by men.
2. A belief in reality (IOW the real world). As opposed to liberals and their policy prescriptions that are tailored for a world that ought to be, but in reality doesn't exist.
That's why Bolton was confident in that Yale speech. Even if Goldwater lost we would still win in the long run. Liberals have a huge problem. They are always on a collision course with reality.
During the 64 campaign a common refrain from the Democrats was that if you voted for Goldwater the war in Vietnam would be escalated. So I voted for Goldwater and sure enough the war in Vietnam was escalated.