White House Contests Claim That Bolton 'Resigned'

(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

The headlines this morning announced that United Nations Ambassador John Bolton would be resigning from his position. CBSNews.com initially headlined its story "U.N. Ambassador John Bolton Resigns." The Washington Post went with "Bush Accepts Bolton's U.N. Resignation." MSNBC had this: "John Bolton resigns as ambassador to U.N." And CNN.com noted that "U.N. ambassador Josh Bolton will resign within weeks after temporary term ends."

The White House quickly took issue with that characterization. "It is not a resignation," Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino told CBS News. She noted that Bolton would be leaving his post when his recess appointment expired at the end of the 109th Congress. After an email with Perino's comment was passed around CBS News, the headline on the Bolton story was changed to "U.N. Ambassador John Bolton To Step Down."

Why is Perino stressing that the word "resign" isn't right? Because, as we saw with the "civil war" debate, there is a widespread belief that the words used to describe a particular situation can have an impact on public opinion. To "resign," in the minds of many, is to leave a post early, often for having done something wrong. That is not the case here, as Bolton is serving out his term before stepping down, likely because he has little hope of being confirmed for a full appointment by the Senate. The Bush administration would much rather push the idea that Bolton is a successful ambassador derailed by Congress than have the public hear about the resignation of a high-profile administration official.

It's no surprise, then, that Bush did not use the "r" word in his statement today on Bolton. Just as it's no surprise that he said this: "I am deeply disappointed that a handful of United States Senators prevented Ambassador Bolton from receiving the up or down vote he deserved in the Senate. They chose to obstruct his confirmation, even though he enjoys majority support in the Senate, and even though their tactics will disrupt our diplomatic work at a sensitive and important time. This stubborn obstructionism ill serves our country, and discourages men and women of talent from serving their Nation."

One could argue that, in a case like this, there is little difference between resigning and stepping down in light of the writing on the wall. But perception can be just as important as reality in politics – if not more so – which is why the Bush administration is so quick to fight the war over words.

[izzatso-2009]

Deputy Press Secretary Dana Perino should check with his Boss before engaging the spin machine - as should the "biased liberal media" bashers here. The White House's own website carries a transcript of the President's announcement in which Bush says, "I received the RESIGNATION of Ambassador John Bolton. I accepted." [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2006/12/20061204-8.html, emphasis added.]

CBS had it right in the first place. It merely should have triple-checked the original source and had the fortitude to not cave to another doublespeaking mouthpiece for the administration.

Like the characterizations in national security advisor Stephen Hadley's recent infamous memo, Perino and the resignation nay-sayers are "either ignorant of what is going on [or] misrepresenting [their] intentions."

Shame on Perino, shame on you bashers, shame on CBS.

[mattcat25]

Of course there has to be an attack on my personal opinion as being against freedom and pro repressive governments. And, as usual a Bill Clinton comment. The only thing missing from your post was a blaming of the media.

John Bolton shouldn%u2019t even be of question if he was as you said qualified. Republicans and Democrats both opposed this appointment and an up or down vote from the Senate were bound to fail.

My point is George W. Bush is unwilling to work with others in this country and the rest of the world. Bush%u2019s stubborn attitude has cost him, the GOP, and America greatly.

[parkerz]

Mattcat25, back in 2000, did Clinton "slip his crony" Roger Gregory to fill a spot on the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ?

Was he participating in a skate by procedure?

Bolton is qualified and was up there making sure that the corruption of the UN was revealed and that U.S. ideals of democracy were being forwarded in a pit full of dictatorships and other various repressive governments.

From your comments, it sounds like you approve of those repressive governments. Why do you hate freedom?

[mattcat25]

Bush slipped his crony John Bolton by the Senate Confirmation procedures during a session recess. Bolton was never to be confirmed by the Senate because he was unqualified for the position of UN Ambassador. This skate by procedure is yet another typical action taken by this President who has shown nothing but disrespect for the Constitution and the American People.

[Don Bowen]

Zorro That's not the way the plural of president is spelled, dummy! There's no apostrophy!

[jwzoc]

It seems facinating to see Ambassador Bolton
on the TV,his mostached personality and impressive behaviour will be a missing element in the UN meetings,it shall be good to know if he returns to the UN again after some vaccation.All the best to the Ambassador.

[zorro36-2009]

Who cares whether the criminal "resigned" or was "fired". As long as the idiot is out!!
Bolton Walrus as vicious and bloodthirsty as Bush and Cheney. Murder is still murder under the law. Where is the justice? Try and hang them all.

[meed1]

Sounds like "get even" to me. Why should a few senators, such as Biden, be allowed to derail the work of a man who has represented his country well? And we were told this would be a fair and free from corruption Democratic Congress! If you believe that, after this little deal, you believe in the tooth fairy too!!!! More of the same. Same worthless bunch. They should all be sent home without pay. Free us from their vengeance and stupidity.

[k-sozer]

Glad that CBS corrected an obvious error this time, instead of making preposterous claims defending poor judgment. Still, this is just one more item to put into the voluminous "media bias" file.

When you know that the country is split 50-50, liberal-conservative, wouldn't it make more sense to try to appeal to both sides?

[cmacb]

From Wikipedia, other sources similar: "A resignation occurs when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down. Leaving of a job upon the expiration of a term is not a resignation. A resignation is a personal decision to exit a position, though outside pressure exists in many cases."

For normal people, as opposed to politicians and media elites the distinction is obvious: you resign when you want to, you get fired, layed off, terminated, and recently "outsourced" when someone else chooses.

Again, for normal English speaking folks the only synonym for resign I know is "quit", while there are quite a few ways to express the notion that you were "forced out".

You wouldn't expect a US media company to have such difficulty with the language. Maybe some "resignations" are in order.