Bolton vote puts Sen. Murkowski in national eye

May 10, 2005

Weeks of political wrangling should come to a bit of a head Thursday when the Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes on President Bush's controversial nominee for United Nations ambassador.

John Bolton, who has served as the U.S. State Department's undersecretary for arms control and international security since May 11, 2001, has a long record of public service at the federal level. Many of the more unsavory details of that service have come to light in the weeks since Bush nominated him to take over as U.N. ambassador.

Those who oppose his nomination have called Bolton an extremist hawk with a bully's persona and a long history of intolerance of dissenting opinions. An unabashed U.N. detractor, Bolton has been an outspoken critic of the world body.

And there is much to criticize. The president himself has said the time is overdue for reform at the United Nations. His nomination of Bolton, he says, is a step in that direction.

As is too often the case with this president, though, he oversimplifies the issue by painting it as black and white: A vote for Bolton is a vote for reform. A vote against him is a vote for the status quo.

It is clear that U.N. reform is necessary. It is less clear, however, that only one man is capable of overseeing that reform. That the man in question comes along with the brand and size of baggage Bolton is saddled with, makes an alternative option well worth considering.

Most of that considering will be done most immediately by Alaska's Lisa Murkowski. who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Sen. Murkowski is a member of the president's party, but she has established herself as an independent thinker.

She has drawn the ire of special-interest groups for daring to question the party line on Bush's judicial nominees. Now, the impending vote on the Bolton nomination puts her in the national spotlight.

Given the uproar over the nomination, Murkowski has already stated that postponing an earlier scheduled vote on Bolton was the right thing to do. It gave senators time to investigate such charges as Bolton's attempts to change intelligence reports to suit his own views, and the misuse of his authority in intimidating subordinates and attempting to spy on those who disagreed with him.

These are difficult times. It is going to take the utmost care - and a hefty dose of international cooperation - to navigate the minefield of ensuring our nation's long-term security. We urge Sen. Murkowski to carefully consider her vote Thursday and the message that would be sent by a Bolton ambassadorship.