I am a few days late on this little snippet I caught on the Situation Room: I caught it in the airport, and haven't had time to diary until now. I couldn't find anyone mentioning it since then, so here goes:
On Tuesday night, Blitzer had John Bolton on to discuss the U.S. incentive package to be presented to Iran with regards to halting their enrichment of Uranium. At the end of his interview, Blitzer asked an interesting question of Bolton, to which he gave an interesting answer...
Blitzer came right out and asked Bolton about his job of having to "sell the administration's decisions to
conservative commentators":
BLITZER: Here's a paragraph that jumped out at me when I read it in Sunday's "Washington Post" about the build up to this major change in U.S. policy, expressing readiness for direct talks with Iran under certain conditions. Let me read this paragraph, because it refers to you.
"On Tuesday, the day before the announcement, Rice let U.N. Ambassador John R. Bolton, long a skeptic about dealing with Iran, in on the secret. Bolton then joined Rice, Hadley and Joseph over dinner and was asked to call conservative commentators the next day to explain the decision."
Is that true?
BOLTON: I read -- I read that paragraph with great interest, too. It's always fun to read things like that. It's somewhat inaccurate, because Nick Burns was at that dinner, as well.
But, you know, this was -- this was something the administration felt importantly, that the policy be explained. And I called many editors for whom I had written articles in my civilian days and talked to them about the policy. That's part of my responsibility in the job, and I take it very seriously.
Now, it seems that there are two possible reasons why Bolton is an idiot here: 1. He didn't hear what Blitzer said about the commentators being conservative only, or 2: He doesn't give a shit, and is outright stating that it is not only his job to sell the administration's crapola to the conservative pundits, but...wait wait, let's see what else he says:
BLITZER: But it sounds sort of humiliating, that they didn't include you in the decision making process. They only brought you in to go ahead and try to sell it to conservative commentators.
BOLTON: Well, take it the way it is. That's the job in the government.
BLITZER: But you accept that, obviously?
BOLTON: That's why I'm here, I suppose."
...yes, I was right: it's number 2. He obviously feels like it's not only his job to sell the administration's crapola to the conservative pundits, but also the job in government, in general.
And indeed, that is why he is the ambassador to the U.N. Because Bush needs another neo-con whackjob salesman to convince everyone that the lies they continuously spew, are so super great and fluffy and will make the world a better place. And help me to afford a house. And gas. And send my [soon-to-be-born] child to college.
Right.