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Run ‘Stache Run: John Bolton for Veep?

Jimmie | September 9, 2010 | Comments (0)

I don’t know that he’d win, but if John Bolton made a serious run for the 2012 Republican nomination, it would make the race very interesting.

Bolton, a sometimes controversial diplomat who served as ambassador to the U.N. from August 2005 through December 2006 for then-President George W. Bush, flirted with the idea of challenging President Obama in 2012.

“I am thinking about it because I think legitimate issues of national security should be more at the center of the national debate than they have been for the last two years,” Bolton said on “Varney and Co.” on the Fox Business Network.

He would immediately become the GOP voice on international policy, since none of the people who are at the front of the pack right now have any foreign policy chops at all. On the other hand, the rest of the pack have more domestic policy experience than he and, as things stand right now, subjects like the economy, size of government, and Washington’s intrusive and incompetent regulatory schemes are going to be front-burner issues (for good reason, by the way). On the gripping hand, just because foreign policy matters aren’t important now doesn’t mean there aren’t important matters out there that need our attention. If Bolton can get us to focus a bit on Mad Mahmoud’s nukes, China’s tyranny, our neglected friendships with long-time allies (Britain, Poland, et. al.) and those who want to be our friends (Colombia, Honduras, et. al.), and the ongoing disaster that is the continent in Africa then he will have spent his time very well.

And there may yet be another method to his madness. Not only would a solid primary run put some attention on things the current administration has botched but it would also give us a chance to see what a good Vice President he could become. I have to think that candidates who are out in front in mid-2011 would be fools not to give him a good, long look as a running mate. Bolton could give a candidate who is weak on foreign policy (Palin, anyone? Daniels? Jindal? Thune?) instant strong credibility.

Heck, I’ll go out on a limb here and risk getting a visit from a team of Haliburton assassins. John Bolton could make a stronger and more effective Vice President than Dick Cheney. He has the chops for it.

There’s another bonus here. A John Bolton candidacy would drive the already paranoid left and their spear-carriers in the MSM even more barking mad than they already are. If you think Christiana Amanpour’s show is dismal now, wait until she’s obliged to give The ‘Stache camera time and treat him with respect.