UN Nominee Called 'Serial Abuser'

Ex-Intelligence Chief Says Bolton Bullied Analysts Who Disagreed

(CBS/AP)  Bolton's frequent assertions that the United States faced serious dangers often did not sit well with some analysts within the U.S. government. Reflecting their skepticism, Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., admonished him, "We can't afford to cry wolf."

His style, Democrats charged, was ill-suited for the U.N. post.

"You have nothing but disdain for the U.N.," said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. "You can dance around it. You can run away from it. You can put perfume on it," she said.

However, with Republicans in the committee majority by 10-8 and the Senate itself by 55-44 plus an independent, Bolton could be on a track to confirmation unless damaging new information about him emerges.

"At this point, all the Democrats are against Mr. Bolton," Borger said. They would like to get Chafee to go along with them, "but I would have to guess that it's going to be a squeaker and he will get confirmed."

What makes Bolton's nomination particularly controversial, says Borger, is Congress' sensitivity about the United States not having found weapons of mass destruction.

"The question of whether someone put pressure on someone to give them the intelligence they want, that fits their ideological mold, is very, very delicate right now on Capitol Hill," Borger said.

The chairman, Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., hopes to hold a committee vote Thursday and has no plan to recall Bolton for more testimony.