As expected, President Bush has made a recess appointment in order to avoid the necessity of gaining Senate confirmation of John Bolton, his nominee to be ambassador to the United Nations. Bush cited "partisan delaying tactics by a handful of senators" without noting that Bolton's nomination was reported to the floor of the Senate by a one-vote margin in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and without a recommendation. He also failed to note that the delay in action on the nomination was the result of (1) a failure to submit certain documents relevant to the nomination that had been requested by the Senate and (2) recent questions concerning the truthfulness of some responses by Bolton to the Senate.
The up-or-down vote that Bush kept demanding now cannot come before January 2007. By that time, Bolton's U.N. demolition project is likely to be well under way.