Bush’s Pick for the U.N. Fails to Impress

Re “U.N. Pick Called Bully Who Abused His Power,” April 13: Can’t President Bush make at least one good appointment? John Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations will surely embarrass the U.S. even more than former Secretary State Colin Powell did by communicating to the U.N. members his distorted view of world politics.

Bolton advocates that the U.S. is at the U.N. for only one purpose -- to further the interest of the U.S. His arrogance can only further alienate the rest of the world. Can’t we send someone to the U.N. who is philosophically a humanist, who has empathy for the plight of mankind?

Sam French

Rancho Palos Verdes

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Nowhere are this president’s extreme partisan leanings more evident than in his nominations and appointments. A president represents all Americans, and that fact should be considered in selecting the people he appoints to positions of power.

Instead, the litmus test for executive and judicial appointments seems to be faithful adherence to the parochial views of this president and his administration. The Bolton nomination is a clear example of this. Bolton reflects the president’s own antipathy toward opposing ideas, but with a mean streak in the bargain. It isn’t in this president’s nature to appoint the best person for the job. He can get away with second-rate appointments because his party is willing to play along -- they have the votes.

What a shame Bush and his people in Congress don’t put the bar higher.

Stu Olster

Sherman Oaks

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While taking care of some chores that took me around Santa Monica and Los Angeles yesterday, I conducted my own informal poll. I asked 36 people picked at random, in the Westwood Mall, a fast-food restaurant and three retail stores, what they thought of the nominations of John D. Negroponte as director of national intelligence and Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Not one person I spoke with even recognized the names of either of these two Bush nominees to positions that will dramatically affect all our futures. Zero for 36.

Good luck, America.

Ronald Rubin

Topanga