Bolton Vote Tomorrow

From CBS News:

Bolton Picks Up Reluctant GOP Vote
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2005

President Bush's embattled nominee for U.N. ambassador, John R. Bolton, has gained momentum despite weeks of intense investigation, with at least one wavering Republican now falling into line with the White House.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., told The Associated Press on Tuesday he reluctantly would support Bolton when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes Thursday on whether to recommend Bolton's confirmation by the full Senate.

...Chafee, one of four committee Republicans who have been on the fence about the nominee, said he reviewed the reports that Bolton mistreated subordinates and abused his authority while a State Department official.

Chafee said that despite his apprehensions, he decided to support the nominee because he believes Mr. Bush, or any chief executive, should be able to choose his own team.

"I won't deny a lot of the information certainly brings great pause, but I fight the administration on so many issues; this is one of those that I've been with them on — to appoint their team," Chafee said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Three other GOP members of the committee also said they were leaning toward supporting Bolton or at least unwilling to write him off. And other Republicans predicted unified GOP support for Bolton when the committee votes.
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It appears that the wavering RINOs are getting on board with Republicans. The committee seems ready to pass the Bolton nomination on to the Senate for a confirmation vote.

All of the grandstanding by Dem committee members and all of the unsubstantiated claims against Bolton's character by Dems may have failed to derail his nomination.

Boxer, Biden, and Dodd, along with the MSM, tried their best to block Bush's choice for U.S. ambassador to the UN, with their relentless, and often baseless, smear campaign. It looks like they came up short.

If Bolton is confirmed, there's a chance that his strong voice at the UN may help counter the organization's current state of disarray and corruption, rescuing it from irrelevance.