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Bursting the John Bolton as Secretary of State Bubble

Share / Recommend - Comment - Print - Tuesday, Feb 12 2008, 8:04PM

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Mike Boyer over at Foreign Policy Magazine's Passport blog just offered a number of sensible reasons why John Bolton probably would not be appointed by a President McCain to serve as Secretary of State.

Boyer is right on the whole -- though he need not worry about classifying Bolton as a neocon. He is not. He's a pugnacious nationalist cut in the shape of Jesse Helms who is allied with the neoconservatives.

But the bummer in Boyer's piece is that not only would a Bolton appointment be a huge boon for The Washington Note and its collaborators who would love to derail Bolton's nomination for another diplomatic post. Such a loss for McCain would be crippling -- just as Bill Clinton learned in some early missteps in his early tenure.

Bottom line -- Boyer is right. Bolton probably won't get the appointment.

But there are many reasons why if the GOP wins in November an early White House effort to get Bolton back on the government payroll (in a Senate confirmed slot) could be good for the country -- particularly as the White House's opposition remembers how to stall the Executive Branch.

-- Steve Clemons

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Reader Comments (2) - post a comment

Posted by Carroll, Feb 12 2008, 11:26PM - Link

I cannot figure out why you insist Bolton is not a neocon but a nationalist. Maybe you need to define neocon and nationalist. If a nationalist employes the same tactics to further US global interest that the neo's promote to further US (and Isr) rule over the globe the difference is basically none except what they "claim" their "motives" are.....protecting US supremacy..spreading democracy ...same bulls**t..same results.

And if Bolton is such a nationalist why is he spending most of his time in Israel trying to get them to attack Iran and attacking the US intelligence agencies and his former employer, Bush and recommending a war that both the pentagon and the military is against? He is doing this to get Isr to do the US dirty work for US interest? He thinks US interest dictates us having to get into another war going to Israel's defense if they do attack Iran?

Call him a egomanicalneonationalist warmongering traitor who lost his very important UN job and has now taken his show to Israel trying to drum up another position for himself with another war....which is more accurate.

Posted by Mr.Murder, Feb 16 2008, 4:57PM - Link

Justice awaits Bolton. Spooks got long memories.