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Here's Your Reward, Senator

jimmiebjr | May 10, 2005 | Reply

Today’s Washington Post delivers its Big Wet Kiss with Tongue to Senator (and newly anointed “maverick”) Pete Voinovich.

I wonder what could have happened recently that involved the Senator who has so richly earned the snuggly huggles from the WaPo?

Let’s look, shall we? Hmm…he was getting an award from the Cleveland Club. That couldn’t have rated this article, though, could it?

But his first question from the audience was not about Ohio. It was about John R. Bolton, the president’s choice to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. Voinovich unexpectedly held up Bolton’s nomination last month after listening to Democratic complaints that the State Department official had mistreated subordinates who disagreed with him on policy issues.
“I am concerned about people’s interpersonal skills,” Voinovich said, adding that respect for others and how a person handles disagreements is important. “Leadership makes a difference,” he told the crowd, which gave him a round of applause.

Ahhh…..there you go. The Senator’s delay gives Democrats three more weeks to dig up frivolous whinery on John Bolton and Voinovich gets a pretty little puff piece in a national newspaper.

Unfortunately, the article missed a little something in the story. See, Voinovich would have you believe that he did what he did out of principle, you know, because he was truly concerned about Bolton’s interpersonal skills and wanted to really get to the bottom of things.

What’s true is that Voinovich never actually attended any of the committee meetings save for the one where he threw up his delay. Any information he might have gotten on Bolton’s interpersonal skills came from Senator Joe Biden, who I’m sure was careful to give him both sides of the story.

He apparently couldn’t be bothered to do his job and show up for meetings on a UN Ambassadorial Nominee.

But hey, at least that doesn’t harm his credibility as a tireless advocate for Federal employees. In fact, I’d say it helps.