Dems Won't Back Off On Bolton

Senate Democrats Still Trying To Block Bush U.N. Nominee

(CBS/AP)  President Bush's nomination of John R. Bolton to be U.N. ambassador has been shaken again by Republican Sen. George Voinovich's surprise opposition to the embattled nominee, and Democrats hope to seize the opportunity and defeat him in the Senate.

At a minimum, they will play for delay, make the White House squirm and renew accusations that Bolton was overly aggressive as the State Department's top arms-control official, pushing his views and trying to damage the careers of officials who disagreed with him.

The leader of the fight against Bolton, Sen. Joseph R. Biden of Delaware, suggested Mr. Bush "would be better served by bringing the nomination down."

"It does not appear that Mr. Bolton has the confidence of a majority of the members of the Senate," Biden said.

The White House showed no sign of backing down after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday voted 10-8 along party lines to forward the nomination to the Senate but without a recommendation, an unusual move.

Sticking to a weeks-old script, Bush spokesman Scott McClellan said, "John Bolton is the right person at the right time for this important position."

The absence of a committee recommendation was a blow to the White House, says CBS News White House Correspondent Bill Plante. Still, if Voinovich is the only Republican defector – and that appears to be the case – Bolton's nomination will likely be approved in the Senate, where the GOP has a 55 to 44 edge over the Democrats, with one independent.

If Bolton survives the bruising Senate fight, he will take with him to New York the scorching attacks of Democrats and Voinovich, and criticism even from Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., who is managing the nomination.

"His blunt style alienated some colleagues," Lugar acknowledged.

Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis., called Bolton "a loose cannon."

Voinovich's doubts helped delay the vote for more than three weeks. In an impassioned and conflicted statement that electrified the committee's 5½-hour meeting, he questioned the impact on the United Nations of naming an ambassador "who himself has been accused of being arrogant, of not listening to his friends, of acting unilaterally and of bullying those who do not have ability to properly defend themselves."

"These are the very characteristics that we are trying to dispel," Voinovich said.