Powell Aide: Bolton Would be an "Abysmal Ambassador." Journalist Eric Umansky sends along this gem from tomorrow's NYT:

On Monday, one of former Secretary of State Colin L. Powell's top aides spoke out in opposition to Mr. Bolton.

"Under Secretary Bolton was never the formidable power that people are insinuating he was in terms of foreign policy, or blocking the policies that Secretary Powell wished to pursue," Lawrence Wilkerson, who served as Mr. Powell's chief of staff, said in a telephone interview.

"But do I think John Bolton would make a good ambassador to the United Nations? Absolutely not," Mr. Wilkerson said. "He is incapable of listening to people and taking into account their views. He would be an abysmal ambassador."

Neither Mr. Powell nor Richard L. Armitage, who served as deputy secretary of state under Mr. Powell, have commented publicly about Mr. Bolton's nomination. Their offices have not replied to repeated inquiries. Mr. Powell was not among a group of five Republican former secretaries of state who sent the committee a letter that endorsed Mr. Bolton's nomination.

Here's tomorrow's Post's piece, which details what I heard earlier from committee staff. Lugar rejected a request from Sen. Dodd to delay the vote further to examine new evidence of Bolton suppressing Iran intelligence from Powell and Rice, and barring a surprise, the vote is likely to fall along party lines, 10 to 8, for the nomination to proceed to the full Senate.

One other point, that will not endear me to some of the Dem party line voters out there. But Hagel is someone I could have potentially supported as a presidential candidate, as I was inclined to support McCain back in 2000. But this kowtowing to the party line when it counts, against the foreign policy principles he pretends to stand for, will cost him centrists like me. He's just another fake Republican-with-an-independent-streak, and I hope those of us angered by this vote tomorrow will remember their cowardice when Chafee goes up for reelection next year and Hagel strikes out for president in 2008.

Posted by Laura at April 18, 2005 11:11 PM