The White House remains firmly behind controversial diplomat John Bolton, who President Bush nomi­nated to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations. His final vote has been postponed until May 12 due to allegations regarding Bolton ’s famous temper. Democrats have charged him with being abusive towards subor­dinates and exceedingly harsh in his criticism toward the United Nations. These allegations have saturated media coverage, but other worthy aspects of the battle over Bolton ’s nomination have largely been ignored.

The Associated Press headline, for example, picked up by scores of news­papers around the world was “59 ex-diplomats oppose Bolton nomination.” These diplomats, including such figures as former Democratic presidential can­didate Carol Mosley-Braun, declared in a March 29 letter to Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) that Bolton “cannot be an effective promoter of the U.S. national interest at the UN.” Citing his opposition to many international treaties, the group slammed Bolton’s support for a democratic Taiwan .

Shows of support from Bolton allies went relatively unreported. Some have compared him to former representa­tives to the UN like Jeane Kirkpatrick and the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, widely heralded as effec­tive promoters of American interests at the world body. Led by the Center for Security Policy, a list of Bolton supporters including Hoover fellows Edwin Meese, Abraham Sofaer, and Peter Robinson, had grown to 92 national security experts by April 13. This letter, also sent to Senator Lugar, suggested that the anti-Bolton diplo­mats had more differences with Presi­dent Bush than with Bolton and said that he is “one of (Bush’s) most effec­tive and articulate officials in advancing (White House) policies.” This group joined five former secretaries of state, including Hoover fellow George Schul­tz, in announcing their support for the embattled nominee. A further 53 for­mer ambassadors wrote Sen. Lugar on April 12, stating: “No one in the world has a better grounding of proven expe­rience than John Bolton.”

But what has many opponents of Bolton angry is his unilateral tenden­cies, as they call it. How “unilateral” Bolton actually is has been the subject of much debate between supporters and those opposing his nomination. Bolton attempted to bring to light his work as a multilateralist in his prepared remarks to the Senate Committee. He hailed the Proliferation Security Initia­tive, which he helped craft, as a “coali­tion of more than 60 countries to help combat the spread of dangerous weap­ons.” Furthermore, he pledged to work within a multinational framework to alleviate humanitarian crises.

Critics were not convinced. Barbara Boxer stated, “I think Mr. Bolton needs anger management at a minimum.” Boxer was referring to his well-known and controversial tendencies to say what is on his mind. For example, his tough talk towards Kim Jong-Il, a “tyrannical dictator,” earned him a derisive moniker from the North Korean government: “human scum.”

Just this past week, it was revealed former Secretary of State Colin Powell had been in contact with several Sena­tors on the foreign relations committee in order to give them a frank assess­ment of Bolton . According to sources familiar with the conversations Powell was supportive of Bolton’s abilities to be an effective diplomat, but expressed his concern regarding Bolton ’s person­ality. Powell is the only former Repub­lican Secretary of State not to sign a letter of support for Bolton .

Making the situation worse for Bolton and the White House, criticism and dissent has started to emerge from the GOP. Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) has previously said he was inclined to cast a ‘yes’ vote in favor of Bolton, but now feels the ‘dynamic has changed.’ The Republican Sena­tor from Ohio , George Voinovich, surprised everyone when he requested that the vote be delayed so that all the allegations against Bolton could be thoroughly investigated by the com­mittee. Additionally, Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has hinted that he may vote against Bolton if the allegations are left unresolved or more emerge.

As of now, the vote on Bolton’s nomination is set for May 12, but that could quickly change if more allegations against him surface or if his nomination is withdrawn by the White House, or if Bolton withdraws himself from consideration.