Dither or blather?
Re “Ditherer in chief,” Opinion, Oct. 18
It took President George W. Bush a number of years to put us in the difficult global position we now face. And, of course, as with so many others, John Bolton wants to conveniently blame this entire mess on President Obama by disingenuously asserting that by now the president should have all of his global chess pieces in place.
By his logic, Bolton seems to think that the president, in less than one year in office, should fully understand all of the nuances of each world leader he deals with, and in turn, they should acquiesce to any pressure he should want to exert.
This ignorance and arrogance is what has stymied recent American foreign policy goals; the rest of the world has come to resent such strident hubris.
As a failed ambassador to the United Nations, Bolton’s attitude should come as no surprise to anyone.
Rodney K. Boswell
Thousand Oaks
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Thank you for continuing to host the occasional column by Bolton. It is a useful reminder of the sort of bluster, masquerading as “decisiveness,” that helped to bring our country’s stature and prospects so low. Obama has made real headway in re-setting our foreign relations on a rational course. If, at times, there are miscues or reversals, let’s remember the corner into which he has been painted by the years of direction provided by Bolton and his cohorts.
Ken Klein
Los Angeles
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Bolton would bad-mouth a move by Obama -- or any other Democrat -- if it produced instant world peace and a Snickers bar for every child on Earth.
Please consign him to the nut box where Rush Limbaugh presides and ignore his hate-filled rants.
Harrison Stephens
Claremont
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I am all in favor of reasonable debate and expression of opinion, but the published opinion by Bolton concerning the Obama foreign policy is a nonsensical collection of rambling gibberish.
I believe that there is a legitimate debate to be had concerning U.S. policy, but you are doing no side or perspective any favors by airing uninformed emotional outbursts by this seemingly unbalanced individual.
I assume that you are merely allowing him to embarrass himself and those who take a similar view. Or perhaps it merely represents how far astray the so-called conservative movement has drifted.
Bill Jones
Los Angeles
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It’s interesting to note that Bolton, critical of the president’s “propensity to apologize for his country’s pre-Obama history,” was one of those whose bad ideas drove much of the destructive foreign policy for which we now need to apologize.
Bob Kertesz
Los Angeles
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It’s all good to criticize Obama for his perceived indecisiveness and weakness.
But until Bolton apologizes for his role as a key advisor to the Bush administration, whose idiotic and failed domestic and foreign policies helped get Obama elected, nothing the blatherer-in-print presents as “fact” in his Op-Ed article should be considered credible.
Eugene Sison
San Dimas
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Bolton’s “Ditherer in chief” is good. A “decider” like George W. Bush is just what we need. Look how well all those quick, decisive decisions worked out.
Bob Wieting
Simi Valley