John Kerry Opposes Re-Nomination of John Bolton for UN Ambassador: "We Need Serious People for Serious Jobs"

The WaPo has an editorial on the re-nomination of John Bolton today, describing Bolton's "tendency to press ideological principle irrespective of pragmatic considerations," as something that "seemed likely to undermine his ability to build coalitions at the United Nations and thereby advance U.S. interests."

We see little evidence here that Mr. Bolton is good at "working multilaterally." Rather than building support at the United Nations, Mr. Bolton has more often solidified the anti-American coalition.

John Kerry issued the following statement today on his opposition to the re-nomination of John Bolton:

“John Bolton’s still the wrong man, for the wrong job, at the wrong time.

“Mr. Bolton has had nearly a year to prove the Senate wrong since his recess appointment. Instead, he has proven that the Senate was right to deny his confirmation last summer. He has helped isolate the United States, made it harder to pursue our interests, and failed to get results on our critical security issues.

“The world is literally blowing up around us, and "we need serious people for serious jobs. I don’t care if he is the smartest kid in the class. I don’t care if he is the loudest kid on the block. I care that he doesn’t get results at a time when we need them. He couldn’t get the UN to enforce Resolution 1559 to disarm Hezbollah. He failed to get Russia, China, and even our ally South Korea on board at the Security Council to impose tough sanctions on North Korea. And he has shown no leadership to stop the genocide in Darfur. We need an Ambassador at the United Nations who knows how to build coalitions and can get results.

“We need someone at the UN who can achieve real results, not just talk big; someone who inspires confidence in all of us, not just confidence in neoconservative circles. This is a time that demands statesmanship in this post.”

ThinkProgress outlines "Why Bolton’s First Year Was A Failure."