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Bush desperately seeking confirmation for Bolton

US President George W. Bush, stunned when John Bolton's nomination for UN ambassador hit a Republican road bump, is working hard to avoid a political setback at the outset of his second term when senators hold a showdown vote next week.

Since the Senate Foreign Relations Committee unexpectedly delayed a vote on Bolton's nomination last month, the White House has reiterated its support daily, working to reassure wavering Republicans he's the right choice.

Bush himself delivered his second recent public defense of his nominee on Thursday. At a news conference, he called Bolton "a blunt guy" who "can get the job done at the United Nations."

The confirmation battle has enormous stakes for the president, potentially providing him with either a boost or a blow at a critical time. The panel vote on Bolton is set for May 12.

Bush's poll numbers are sagging. His proposed Social Security overhaul -- like much of his agenda -- has been met with skepticism in Congress, his nominees for judicial posts are tied up in the Senate and ethics questions surround a prominent member of his party and fellow Texan, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Democrats working to derail Bolton's confirmation paint the nominee as unfit for the job because of his tough-talking demeanor, hard-line foreign policy stances and past criticism of the UN. Allegations of professional misbehavior also have trickled out.

The administration is portraying Bolton's style as exactly what's needed to the whip troubled world body into shape.

"A vote against him is a vote for the status quo at the United Nations," said White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

Bolton's confirmation stalled April 19 when Republican Senator George Voinovich urged a delay in the Foreign Relations Committee's planned vote. Three fellow Republicans all backed a postponement to review fresh allegations.

While none has indicated plans to oppose Bolton, it would take only one Republican to side with the committee's eight Democrats to create a tie vote -- jeopardizing the nomination.

Republican officials familiar with the administration's efforts say the White House is concentrating much of its attention on Voinovich, believing he could be the most likely to oppose Bolton.

The Ohio senator temporarily blocked President Clinton's nomination of Richard Holbrooke to the United Nations in 1999 because, the senator says, he was told the nominee was "a kind of a nasty guy, arrogant."
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