Bolton hearing

[whometense]

Who's watching?

My first thought: he's trying to drone everyone on the committee into a coma, perhaps in hopes that they might ask if anyone who's this boring can be evil?

I don't think evil and boring are mutually exclusive qualities.

[JI7]

1. yes, but mostly pressing mute anytime Republicans talk

not really paying attention overall, waiting for Kerry .

[Pirate Smile]

8. That is my general method also.

[TayTay]

2. It is tough sledding but this is the stuff

Sarbanes and Biden did a good job trying to pin him down.

Chafee is driving me nuts.

[whometense]

3. Chafee was completely and

utterly sickening.

Dodd, however, is doing a spectacular job.

[TayTay]

4. I have spotty coverage of this

cuz I have to like work today. Sigh!
Guess I will catch this on the transcripts and on C-Span later on.

Thanks for writing. I can catch up.

[whometense]

5. Kerry's up now!

really n/t, except to say :loveya: :loveya: it's great to hear him speaking...

[JI7]

6. i was just going to post about the same thing

just good to see and hear him.

[whometense]

7. Reasonable, tough, and

intelligent. Sigh.

[TayTay]

9. Excellent, just excellent

Ripped the lying, vindictive, Rethug bastard a new a-hole. Caught him in a bold-face lie, denying that he said certain things. (That you can see Bolton making on stopbolton.com, btw)

Thank you Senator. This was a gorgeous thing to watch.

Nice job. (Ahm, I told you guys that Kerry hated this guy.)

[whometense]

10. NO KIDDING!!

Bolton looked like a sulky little kid while Kerry was talking.

And did you see he just interrupted his answer to Coleman to try and rebut Kerry?? Heh. Too weak, and too late. Kerry HATES this guy.

[TayTay]

12. Ahm, yeah

That's why I did the deep background stuff from long ago. Being stuffed on a big drug investigation will do that to you. And this bastard intentionally stuffed that investigation. He is just odious.
Ahm, I hate him too. (could you guess?)

Who says Kerry isn't emphatic and energetic in pursuit of a goal. I just hope this felt as Good as it looked.

[karynnj]

13. Sulky and mean!

Kerry managed to look more reasonable and pleasant as Bolton spoke.
I think it just made Bolton angrier (maybe Kerry wants Bolton to explode).

[whometense]

14. If so, great tactic,

and he just might succeed with it. Looks to me like Bolton has an extremely thin skin.

Too bad they only get ten minutes at a stretch. Every ten minutes he gets the wet republican kiss, and a chance to recover his composure.

[TayTay]

15. Allen is a disgusting toady

honestly, that was the most repulsive Rethug wet kiss I've seen since, well, okay Condi. (sigh! not that uncommon for these people.)

I vote in favor of making him explode. I would love to see a calm clear and collected Kerry and a fuming Bolton with steam coming out of his ears. What a puke!

[whometense]

16. Boxer now

She and Kerry make a great attack team.

[karynnj]

19. "You Say different things to different audiences?

This guy is an absolute jerk. He's trying to re-interpret lossing 10 floors as downsizing? We use the UN only when they follow what we want. I can't believe that these quotes aren't a problem for more of the Republicans.

Boxer is great.

[whometense]

20. That incredulous comment had me

laughing out loud.

She did a fabulous job - that video was KILLER.

[Laurab]

49. Kerry and Boxer were great

they sure woke me up. You could see the frustration and anger in both of them, (although they both kept their cool). It was an interrogation I would NEVER want to go through. If Bolton was able to actually answer even ONE question even semi-honestly, I didn't see it. I think he was trying (in Biden's words) to "filibuster" his way through the questions, and Kerry had to keep cutting him off. He would drone on and on saying the same things, and Kerry wouldn't let him do it. The old prosecutor was doing his job, and doing it well.

I have to say it was good to see JK again, and to think, we could have had that intelligent, articulate, honest and ethical (not to mention handsome), man in the white house...

[karynnj]

11. Kerry was great

His "selectivity" response was amazing. He looked almost incredulous when Bolton tried to claim that he was quoted out of context.

Wow! Kerry did get to him, he's answering Kerry in the middle of Coleman's talk - the UN could be good with the US's leadership.

Coleman is a jerk - He seems to be feeding Bolton all these things saying the UN is bad. Zionism is racism.

[ginnyinWI]

22. Yeah I can tell

Just under the surface is a seething hatred. But he's hiding it fairly well to the casual observer. I wonder how many of them in that room know the history between Kerry and Bolton.

[karynnj]

24. Many of them have to know it

Biden, Dodd, and Sarbanes were all on the committee longer than Kerry - so they had to have seen it. Lugar was the one who was chairman. That's why I'm disappointed that Lugar isn't willing to vote against him himself - Indiana is red, but Lugar has been their Senator since at least the early 80s

[ginnyinWI]

23. And don't forget

HANDSOME! What a knock-out; I keep forgetting just how much! :loveya:

[whometense]

25. yeah,

ditto. :loveya:

[whometense]

17. Holy s***!!

That video was damning.

So what's with the pretense at blandness today???

[TayTay]

18. That's the video from http://www.stopbolton.com/

This guy is a nutjob. It is imperative that he go down. And he's a nasty little know-it-all as well.

Listen to his explanation on the '10 stories' comment. He just wanted to get the Rethug Federalist Society members attention. (And I'm friggin marrying Prince Charles next.) What a dick!

http://www.stopbolton.com/

[whometense]

21. Have to hand it to you, TayTay,

you were right on the mark about him.

I suppose the aim here is to make him so stinky that Chafee doesn't dare vote for him. It would be nice if another Republican of Conscience or two might turn up as well...

[GRLMGC]

26. self-delete

don't wanna sound like a dumbass :)

[whometense]

27. That is sort of the

"elephant in the room" question, isn't it?

[GRLMGC]

28. hahaha

It's so freaking obvious yet no one seems to ask because it's what? rude? Ugh, God knows.

[JI7]

31. now you got me curious about your original post in this thread

did it have to do with Bolton's physical appearance ?

[GRLMGC]

47. Oh no

I was just wondering why no one questioned Bush's arrogant, asshole attitude when it comes to his fucked up nominees. I'm willing to bet no politician would do it.

[elshiva]

39. Bwahshahahha!

Milkmoustache Bolton going down? God I hope so!

[whometense]

29. Salon War Room #1 - The new and improved John Bolton

It's not exactly a confirmation conversion, but the John Bolton on display today before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is just a little different than the version we've seen before.

We're used to the John Bolton who says things like "there is no United Nations," and "The mindless creation of the United Nations as something different than what is in the United States' interest to do isn't gonna sell here or anywhere else," and "The United States makes the U.N. work when it wants it to work, and that is exactly the way it should be because the only question -- the only question to the United States -- is what's in our national interest. And if you don't like that, I'm sorry, but that is the fact."

A different John Bolton turned up for his confirmation hearing today. The new and improved -- dare we say, "kinder and gentler"? -- John Bolton still had some critical words for the United Nations, but the bombastic oratory was replaced by what we're sure was heartfelt sympathy. Bolton said that, as George W. Bush's ambassador to the United Nations, he would help provide the leadership necessary to make the United Nations all that it can be. "Such leadership in turn must rest on broad bipartisan support in Congress that must be earned by putting to rest skepticism that too many feel about the U.N. system," Bolton said.

Bolton must know that he's playing to an audience of one -- the only wavering Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee. And from that audience, Bolton is getting rave reviews -- at least so far. "You said all the right things in your opening statement," Chafee told Bolton after he finished speaking this morning.

-- Tim Grieve

<13:24 EST, April 11, 2005>

Gag.

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/04/11/bolton2/index.html

[whometense]

30. Salon War Room #2 - Hand-to-hand combat over Bolton

We can't say whether it's unprecedented, but we can certainly say it's uncommon: A U.S. senator taking out ads in another senator's state to sway a vote on a presidential nominee. That's what John Kerry is doing today. The target is Rhode Island Sen. Lincoln Chafee -- and, more directly, John Bolton.

Confirmation hearings begin today for the man George W. Bush has nominated to serve as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Kerry is doing everything he can to get Chafee to join Democrats in opposing Bolton's appointment. The Republicans have the numbers to confirm Bolton if he gets to the Senate floor, but Bolton has to get there first. If Democrats can get one Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to vote against Bolton, his nomination will die in committee.

Chafee, who says publicly that he's non-committal, is the Democrats' best hope, and that's why visitors to Rhode Island Web sites this week will find ads from johnkerry.com, urging a no vote on Bolton's confirmation. In an email to reporters this morning, Kerry spokeswoman Katharine Lister said that Kerry will also be running ads on some blogs and emailing his supporters in Rhode Island.

In an email that went out to Rhode Island residents registered with Kerry's Web site, the Massachusetts senator asked, "In his heart, do you think Senator Lincoln Chafee thinks it is wise to award high government posts to those who have been the architects of some of the most disastrous foreign policy decisions of the last four years?"

Kerry says that Chafee is "under enormous political pressure from the White House and right-wing organizations to cast the deciding vote in favor of the Bolton nomination," and he urges Rhode Island resident to flood Chafee's office with calls asking him to just say no.

The Foreign Relations committee is expected to vote Thursday.

-- Tim Grieve

<11:35 EST, April 11, 2005>

http://www.salon.com/politics/war_room/index.html?blog=/politics/war_room/2005/04/11/bolton/index.html

[whometense]

32. The Bolton Bulletin

Courtesy of the American Prospect:

Editors' Pick: The Bolton Bulletin
Everything you need to know about one of the administration's worst nominees.
By The Editors
Web Exclusive: 04.11.05

Today and tomorrow, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee considers John Bolton's nomination to the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Why is he meeting such opposition? Here, a compilation of the Prospect's coverage of Bush's new diplomat...

Control Freak by Wade Boese
John Bolton would rather keep America free of commitments than keep the world free of nuclear weapons. <4/7/2005>

Ambassador or Embitterer by Nancy E. Soderberg
John Bolton could help the administration turn the corner -- or turn the world away. <4/5/2005>

Conversion Diversion by Mark Leon Goldberg
Don't be fooled by John Bolton's confirmation doubletalk. He'll revert to form instantly if he's sent to the UN. <4/4/2005>

and much, much more...

[europegirl4jfk]

33. "You are smarter than that!"

Kerry to Bolton. LOL I'm watching again and it's just great. Bolton is so mad at Kerry, you can see this on his face.

[JI7]

34. i hope they rerun this

i wasn't able to pay that much attention to it right now so missed a lot of it.

[Withywindle]

35. They will tonight.

8 PM EDT.

I'll make popcorn.

[whometense]

36. Oh, thanks!

I want to watch without having to be distracted by my work. :evilgrin:

[TayTay]

37. TayTay back tomorrow

I had a Rings thing going on here. I will tape the Bolton hearing and cathc up.

Thanks to everyone for writing on this. You guys rock!

(What a week I'm having!)

[whometense]

40. I was in reverse.

Had to tape the ring thing for my NYC dwelling boy, so I watched the hearings.

Have to catch up with the Sox tonight, though it was a lovely game!! Wakefield is one of my two favoritev Sox (Varitek is the other). And my daughter has a crush on Doug Mirabelli.

[ginnyinWI]

38. Are they through for the day?

I thought I heard Lugar say they would be back after the vote. But I haven't seen anything.

[whometense]

41. No, I think they're done for the day.

But I'm not sure. I got confused when I heard Obama refer to the vote - I thought they were cutting off the hearing and voting today. Ack.

I hate to bash dems, but Obama was way way too kind to Bolton for my taste. Or do you think there's some good cop/bad cop going on?

[ginnyinWI]

42. hard to say about him

He may just be letting the big guys do the heavy lifting, with the consent of all. I think they must get together beforehand and decide which subject each one wants to take. Kerry got nukes/South Korea, Feingold got terrorists/torture, etc., don't you think? Boxer took the character issues, like she did with Condi... I wonder if Saturday Night Live will do another installment!

I don't think some on this board are being fair to jump on Obama and rush to judge him. They do love to jump on people. Give the guy some time, cut him some slack, I say. His speaking style is very Kerry-like: cool, focused and deliberative.

But today, JK seemed clearly agitated, and with good reason. He was positively twitchy while he was hearing all the crap from Bolton. ;)

[whometense]

44. I agree.

You rarely see him that emotional (though I wonder how many people would recognize his state as emotional. ;-))

He really had Bolton on the ropes, though.

I forgot to mention his email as well - also passionate. I do enjoy seeing this side of him. :evilgrin:

[ginnyinWI]

48. yeah, like a warrior!

Charging into battle, taking no prisoners! Out of all the Dems who questioned Bolton, his interrogation left the least wiggle room, and I do think he showed Bolton as the hypocrite he is. He did us proud, as usual!

[ginnyinWI]

43. snip from Washington Post about the hearing

includes the Kerry-relevant part: :)

<<<Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) dismissed the significance of the dispute, saying that "I think we ought to focus on the big picture." He said Bolton has the experience, knowledge and background to head the U.S. mission to the United Nations and that President Bush selected "the absolute perfect person for the job."

U.S. taxpayers care less about an internal State Department dispute than they do about getting a return for U.S. investment in the United Nations, Allen said. He said Bolton's appointment at this juncture is "an opportunity to eliminate waste" in the institution.

But Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) told Bolton that in view of the "massive intelligence failure" that preceded the U.S. invasion of Iraq, senior administration officials should not be retaliating against subordinates whose intelligence assessments turn out to be accurate.

"I think the American people deserve to have people who are correct not be fired, but rewarded," Kerry said. >>>

[globalvillage]

45. He's on now 10:08 EDT

[politicasista]

46. Thanks.

He, Babs and Barack are the bomb! I think Obama will get better with more experience.

[Withywindle]

50. Don't forget Feingold!

He brought up some really good stuff - asking Bolton what he'd have done differently about Rwanda if he had been in that position, connected it to Sudan and Congo. It was so direct and straightforward it was really obvious when Bolton had no good answer and didn't seem all that interested in having an answer. Feingold didn't raise his voice or say words to that effect, but it was very clear he was utterly disgusted.

I thought Obama did fine. Calm and methodical, as he usually is. And yeah, I think he's still very conscious of being a newbie. Maybe a little too much so, but I think it's good for him to get out from under some of those insane expectations that were on him.


Kerry was FIERCE. I thought he was going to zap Bolton into ash with the laser beams from his eyes.

[politicasista]

51. I forgot about Feingold. He was good too.

[whometense]

53. I LOVE

your laser eyes comment. I was drowsing during last night's rerun until Kerry came on, and then I sat up STRAIGHT. I call that passion. :loveya: :loveya: :loveya:

[TayTay]

52. I now have full transcripts

of yesterdays sessions. Should any blogs or such want quotes, give me a PM.