BOLTON RESIGNS

By Michael J.W. Stickings

John Bolton is out at the U.N. He submitted his resignation to President Bush, and Bush has reluctantly accepted it. And so, finally, the Bolton era is over.

And yet, in his reluctance, Bush proved once again just how delusional and stubborn he is, just how much he doesn't get it:

"I accept it; I'm not happy about it," Bush told reporters this afternoon in the Oval Office after a meeting with Bolton. He said his nominee "deserved to be confirmed" as the U.S. envoy to the United Nations. "We're going to miss you in this administration," Bush told Bolton. "You've been a stalwart defender of freedom and peace."

Bolton's many shortcomings are old news -- they have been documented brilliantly by, among others, Slate's Fred Kaplan and The Washington Note's Steve Clemons, both of whom I admire a great deal, and, following them, I wrote about them in several posts. For example, see here. But enough is enough. It's over. He got his recess appointment, but there was no way the Senate was going to confirm him, not with sensible Republicans like Lincoln Chafee turning against him.

But Bush is still the president, alas, and what we get with Bolton's resignation is yet another glimpse into his detachment from reality.

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The Bolton resignation has been, needless to say, the story of the day. For all the coverage you need, go to Memeorandum. In particular, I would single out The Carpetbagger Report, Booman Tribune, The Brad Blog, Firedoglake, TAPPED, and Hullabaloo.

And see this great post by Steve Clemons. I await Fred Kaplan's next Bolton column.