Democrats playing politics with Bolton - W.House
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050621/pl_nm/bush_bolton_dcWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Tuesday accused Senate Democrats of playing politics by blocking for a second time the confirmation of John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said President Bush still wanted an up-or-down Senate vote for Bolton and would not say whether Bush planned to bypass Senate procedure and appoint Bolton when Congress recesses.
"We continue to urge the Senate to give him an up-or-down vote. John Bolton enjoys majority support, that is clear. And the Democratic leadership is simply blocking progress and blocking reform at the United Nations by their tactics. This is clearly (the) Democratic leadership playing politics with this nomination," McClellan said.
White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card talked on Monday to Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee about providing additional information on Bolton, but they came to no agreement. "We've continued to make a good-faith effort. The Democrats clearly aren't interested in more information," McClellan said.