Betsy's Page
The Washington Post has an article today that Powell aide, Larry Wilkerson, is going to testify to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about his criticisms of John Bolton. Meanwhile, Richard Armitage, Powell's closest friend supposedly at State came out endorsing the Bolton nomination.
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Democrats view Larry Wilkerson, a longtime Powell aide who has been publicly critical of Bolton, as an important guide to Powell's thinking and actions about key incidents being investigated by the committee, a Democratic aide said. Alone among living former Republican secretaries of state, Powell has pointedly refused to endorse Bolton and privately told some senators he had concerns about Bolton's judgment.
In a boost for Bolton, however, Powell's closest friend, former deputy secretary of state Richard L. Armitage, endorsed Bolton in a statement to the Associated Press. "John Bolton is eminently qualified," Armitage told a reporter as he entered an event at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "He's one of the smartest guys in Washington."
Asked if Bolton was a good choice, Armitage replied, "It was the president's choice and I support my president."
Armitage had many testy battles with Bolton during President Bush's first term, and his positive remarks surprised Bolton's supporters. Many of the former State Department officials who have emerged to criticize Bolton are close associates of Armitage.
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We all knew that Wilderson didn't like Bolton. Isn't the bigger story that Armitage is speaking in his favor, even if he isn't enthusiastic. Perhaps Armitage would like a job in a Republican administration at some time in the future.
And George Voinovich, who is vying for the title of the weakest link in the Republican caucus in the Senate, still hasn't bothered to meet with John Bolton. Voinovich was happy to repsond to Democratic criticisms and delay the vote on Bolton even though he personally had missed the hearings at which Bolton testified. HE said he needed to know more. But he's just been too busy to actually do what he is being paid to do there on the Committee. What a jerk. I hope Ohio is taking a look at this guy and remembering all their strikes against him when next he is in a Republican primary.
posted by Betsy Newmark
betsyspage.blogspot.com
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