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OHIO Senator Mike DeWine for US Ambassador at the U.N.?

The departure of John Bolton opens the way for an envoy with internationalist credentials and a talent for finesse

Tuesday, December 05, 2006

President Bush needs to set aside partisan displeasure and view the departure of John Bolton, his never-confirmed ambassador to the United Nations, for what it is: an opportunity to find a more credible envoy with bipartisan backing.

There are plenty of worthy candidates, starting with Ohio's own Mike DeWine, who has shown deep dedication to international humanitarian projects in a 12-year Senate career highlighted by 16 trips to Haiti and nonpartisan leadership on other issues, including Darfur and the HIV-AIDS crisis.

Unlike Bolton, DeWine has shown sensitivity to diplomatic nuance and works well across the aisle with Senate Democrats. As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, DeWine is intimately familiar with the critical concerns surrounding Iran and North Korea.

President Bush yesterday accused Bolton's opponents of "stubborn obstructionism" and expressed regret that a handful of senators "prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up-or-down vote he deserved."

The truth is that Bolton never got that up- or-down vote because many Republicans - including, for a time, Ohio Sen. George Voinovich - harbored doubts about his suitability for the job. And those doubts seemed well justified.

A "serial abuser" is how one career intelligence officer and self-described fellow conservative, Carl Ford, publicly described Bolton.

Now, by resigning via a terse letter to the president, Bolton not only spared the White House a needless spat with a Democratic Congress next year, but also saved the country the continuing handicap of having a politically weak envoy in such a crucial job.

Bolton's recess appointment expires with the current Congress. Knowing that he could not be confirmed, the White House reportedly was weighing other maneuvers that would have been politically costly.

In truth, Bolton was not an unalloyed disaster at the United Nations. He often was bull-headed where it counted, including in shepherding tough sanctions resolutions through the Security Council.

Even envoys who routinely clashed with the U.S. ambassador say they are sorry to see him go. "I believe that he's hardworking and so I regret that he's going to resign," said China's ambassador, Wang Guangya.

Yet whoever replaces Bolton at the world body - whether DeWine or Maine Democrat George Mitchell or another figure with bipartisan appeal - should be able to add to any such assets the essentials of diplomatic finesse and political clout. The swirling crises in the Middle East and East Asia, overlain by ongoing humanitarian emergencies in Darfur, Haiti and other poorer quarters of the world, demand nothing less.