Yosemite Sam bites the dust
John Bolton , that most undiplomatic diplomat who has been serving as acting U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations since his recess appointment last year, stepped down today when it became apparent that there was no way in hell that he could win confirmation in the lame-duck Senate. Two men deserve special thanks for this outcome: Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), who lost his re-election bid, and Steve Clemons , author of The Washington Note . It was Clemons who brought turned the attention of denizens of the blogosphere to the perils of an Ambassador Bolton (who famously denied the exsistence of the United Nations)*, and who never dropped that ball. Chafee, whose committee vote made kept the Bolton nomination from reaching the Senate floor, deserves commendation for doing the right thing, even after his defeat by a Democrat. In fact, Chafee went so far to make that point that the outcome of the 2006 mid-term elections, as epitomized by his own loss, signaled the electorate's d...