T. Gorton: “I do not frequently vote against Presidential nominees who serve at the pleasure of the President. Barring unusual…”

“I do not frequently vote against Presidential nominees who serve at the pleasure of the President. Barring unusual circumstances, I believe the President should be allowed to pick whoever he believes can best serve his administration, particularly in his capacity as Commander in Chief. Last April, however, I voted not to confirm Strobe Talbott as Ambassador at Large to the New Independent States. I based this decision on the only evidence of his character available to the Senate at that time, his writings. Because Mr. Talbott had written some 150 articles between 1980 and the early 1990's, and, because for most of that time I had been one of his readers, I considered myself qualified to evaluate him fairly. On the issue of United States policy toward the Soviet Union--Ambassador Talbott's area of expertise--he was wrong on a great majority of the major decisions made by the Reagan and Bush administrations, decisions that won the endgame of the cold war and led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.”