Bolton may be one of the few remaining neo-cons in the Administration and remains as the unconfirmed Ambassador to the UN. As such, he's "easy pickins."
However, my impression (and I am willing to be corrected on this as well) is that he hasn't really done too bad a job. From the Press, I expected Khrushchev shoe banging. Unless there is something I don't know and assuming he'd be gone in 2008 with a Democratic Presidential victory, it would seem to me that Democrats could give this one to Bush without any actual harm. I believe Bolton has remained relatively focused on "cleaning up the UN," but has gone about it in a responsible, quiet way...and few could disagree with the need for a UN cleansing.
Maybe as part of the confirmation hearings, the Dems could get him to sign a "loyalty oath," disavowing his prior neo-con sentiments? IOW, put him through some grilling, but be magnanimous...and "trade" his confirmation for something more tangible.
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For a completely one-sided and biased take on Bolton see http://www.stopbolton.org/record.html#summit
Nevertheless, it does appear that Bolton is still pushing neo-con thinking at the UN (even sometimes in the face of Administration disapproval.) It does smell like he is working on his goals of dismantling the UN (by cutting funding; starving the beast).
He calls it "reform," but this is along the lines of Republican plans to "reform" Social Security...i.e., to make it something else entirely that benefits only the interests of the "reformer's" constituents. This, in my view, is a short-sighted foreign policy that can only lead to further distrust of the U.S.
I don't think Bolton is someone we want representing the U.S. in the U.N. He is not conducive to improving our image abroad. I think the Administration might realize this and wants to get rid of Bolton too, but will leave the task to the Democrats so that they will take political heat for not being "bi-partisan" enough.
Yes, the Democrats' best option may be to work with the President and Republicans to try and find a mutually agreeable different nominee, but not to make strong efforts to deny Bolton the nomination absent substantial Republican support, if push comes to shove. That would be risking too much political capital for a guy that will be out of the picture in two years, if Bush doesn't decide to replace him first anyway.
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