Jon S. Corzine: “today I will be voting against the nomination of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations. When the President…”

“today I will be voting against the nomination of John Bolton to be Ambassador to the United Nations. When the President first nominated Mr. Bolton for this position, I expressed deep disappointment and concern. First, because of his repeated expression of disdain for the organization. But, more importantly, because Mr. Bolton is as responsible as any member of the administration for the needless confrontations with the rest of the world and for the international isolation that plagued President Bush's first term and for the shaky credibility we carry today. At a time when we need to be strengthening our alliances and making full use of international institutions to achieve our foreign policy goals, sending Mr. Bolton to the United Nations sends the exact wrong message. I don't accept his view that the U.N. is a vehicle to be used by the U.S. ``when it suits our interests and we can get others to go along.'' Diplomacy in most people's minds requires attention to more than just coalitions of the willing. Over the past month, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee has uncovered a pattern of behavior on the part of Mr. Bolton that has only confirmed my concerns. Most disturbing to me is the evidence of Mr. Bolton's troubled and confrontational relationship with our intelligence community. In speeches and testimony, he has appeared to stretch the available intelligence to fit his preconceived views.…”