John Kerry: “I will say a few words about Secretary Bolton. The Senator from Oregon and I are good friends and we have known each…”

“I will say a few words about Secretary Bolton. The Senator from Oregon and I are good friends and we have known each other a long time in the Senate and have worked together on a number of issues. As he well knows, the issue that defines the Bolton nomination is not politics. It is not ``death by 1,000 cuts.'' It is an examination of the record of an individual who has been nominated for one of the largest embassies in the world, one of the most important spokesperson jobs in the world, one of the most important diplomatic jobs in the world. It is vital, in the aftermath of Secretary Powell's testimony to the United Nations--which he now has publicly acknowledged was in error, on the basis of intelligence that was erroneous--that we send a message to the world about the credibility of that spokesperson and the United States itself. If that spokesperson comes to the job with a background of having interfered with the work of analysts in the State Department in the research and the intelligence research department, or if that person comes to the job with proof that there is, in fact, a retribution system for not providing the intelligence according to what that person wanted--not according to what the intelligence was--that is a problem. It is a serious problem. If the nominee was not candid with the committee under oath before which he appeared, that is a serious problem. It is not politics.…”