JOHN BOLTON, SOURCE OF ALL EVIL [Rich Lowry ]
The New York Times said this in an editorial today: "it's hard not to think that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's generally positive performance in office is due, in part, to her canniness in dispatching Mr. Bolton out of Washington."
This is so silly. As if John Bolton single-handedly hampered the State Department throughout Bush's first term (State's weak performance had nothing to do, of course, with Colin Powell). And as if it was only when she was free of Bolton that Rice could truly shine. Some might attribute her performance to her relationship with the president, her intelligence, her natural charm, her habit of actually visiting foreign countries (in contrast to Powell), but the Times wants to give the credit to the absence of Bolton. The Times has it backwards. State is doing a better job now because it is trying to represent Bush's agenda, which is what Bolton tried to do, as a very lonely man at Foggy Bottom, for the first four years. It's a twist of fate that now that conservative reinforcements have finally arrived, he's headed to Turtle Bay.
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