Remember John Bolton? His nomination to the UN Ambassador's post had Washington and political circles in a tizzy until Sandra Day O'Connor retired from the Supreme Court. Despite his initial reluctance to do so, Bolton apparently has indicated that he will accept a recess appointment from George Bush rather than attempt to push his way through a recalcitrant Senate once again:

With neither the White House nor Senate Democrats showing any sign of yielding in their long-running dispute over documents related to Bolton's State Department work, speculation is rife that Bolton is prepared to accept a recess appointment good through the end of 2006, despite warnings from some GOP senators that it would weaken his influence and effectiveness. ...

"He'll take the recess" appointment, said the administration source, who is familiar with Bolton's thinking. "The president has made his selection, and the president is asking the Senate to confirm the selection, and if the Senate refuses to do that, then most assuredly [Bush] will make a recess appointment."

This agreement would appear to clear the decks for the upcoming SCOTUS confirmation fight, allowing both parties to focus on the nominee Bush selects for O'Connor's seat. Both sides will likely breathe a sigh of relief at having this cup pass from their lips rather than fight a third floor battle over cloture.

This didn't keep Charles Babington and Dafna Linzer from publicizing even more silly and inconsequential back-stage gossip about Bolton. At the end of their Washington Post report, the two dedicate several paragraphs to the efforts of Bolton to acquire the office space he feels necessary to hit the ground running as UN ambassador. The Post's reporters manage to find two petty Washington bureaucrats who don't care for Bolton's requisition of space because they feel it "inappropriate" prior to his Senate confirmation.

How long before we see George Voinovich crying over that slight, too?

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» Bolton Recess Appointment from The Strata-Sphere
Capt Ed Morrissey has news out the Bolton will accept a recess appointment. We have been awaiting this news for a couple of weeks now since we posted on it earlier. This agreement would appear to clear the decks for the upcoming SCOTUS confirmation ... [Read More]

Tracked on July 13, 2005 7:41 AM