How did Bolton make it past the screeners?

[housewolf]

Too few questions on Bolton and leadership


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Like far too many appointees before him, Bolton won his nomination without regard to his leadership style. He also won the nod in spite of the quiet opposition of his most recent boss, former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

most entirely on the basis of his loyalty to the president, his ideological intensity and membership in the professional class of appointees who await the next plum to add to their resumé. Having held four appointments under three Republican presidents, Bolton was named for the UN assignment largely because he was available, not because he had shown the leadership skills needed for such an important assignment. To the contrary, as Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) said Thursday, his sometimes abusive behavior as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security would have earned him a pink slip in the private sector.

The question is how a candidate with a flair for intimidation made it so far. ... The answer will not be found in the 60 pages of forms Bolton filled out as part of the nomination process. .... The answer will not be found at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which reviewed all Bolton's answers, nor at the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, which searched his financial records for possible conflicts of interest. And it will not be found in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee questionnaire, which asks dozens of questions about policy, but none about leadership and management.

<snip>

The reason Bolton made it so far without a yellow light is that the appointments process itself does not concern itself with leadership per se. Congress and presidents long ago decided that leadership is equal to the number of leaders, not necessarily the ability to lead. Toward that end, they have added layer upon layer of political appointees to the federal hierarchy in a vain effort to make government work. Whereas President John F. Kennedy appointed just 10 cabinet secretaries, 6 deputy secretaries, 15 undersecretaries, and 87 assistant secretaries, George W. Bush has appointed nearly three times as many people in those top categories.

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http://www.newsday.com/news/opinion/ny-oplig154258961may15,0,2405233.story?coll=ny-viewpoints-headlines

[MADem]

1. Yeah, who was at Plato's Retreat WITH him??? N/T

[bklyncowgirl]

2. Bernie Kerik made it through Bush screening process

It's easy.

The only question asked is "Do you accept George W. Bush as your lord and savior and promise to support him fully regardless of the consequesnces?"

If the answer is yes, you're in. These guys expect to get what they want and for they most part they do.

I predict Bolton will get in because there are not enough moderate Republicans with the guts to go against this guy.

Loyalty uber alles.

[Bridget Burke]

3. The appointment is Bolton's reward for Florida...

And his role in stopping the recount.

"Im with the Bush-Cheney team, and I'm here to stop the count."

Those were the words John Bolton yelled as he burst into a Tallahassee library on Saturday, Dec. 9, 2000, where local election workers were recounting ballots cast in Florida's disputed presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore.

www.thenation.com/blogs/thebeat?bid=1&pid=2320

Appointment of genial nonentities who'd been big donors has been a tradition in too many administrations; at least, the career professionals would handle things behind the scenes. But the Bush gang has a new tradition of appointing the worst man (or woman) for the job.