Requiem for an honest man:John Bolton has resigned

John Bolton resigned as our UN ambassador today.

He was originally appointed by President Bush in a recess appointment, good only for the term of the current congress, which expires in about a week.

As before, he was not allowed an up or down vote by the senate due to the obstruction of a small group of senators who refused to allow his nomination out of committee.

In the end, he decided to pull the plug himself.

Bolton served with distinction as an honest man and a dedicated public servant hampered both by often contradictory presidential policy and direction and the nature of the United Nations itself. With all that, he was one of the most effective UN representatives America has ever had, and a true spokesman for freedom.

In the UN itself, Bolton had his problems with the entrenched order, especially Secretary General Kofi Annan. That usually happens when someone questions `business as usual'..especially when business as usual means lining some very well connected pockets.

But perhaps John Bolton's biggest problem with the UN began when he was instrumental in successfully lobbying the UN to void its infamous `Zionism is racism' resolution some years back, before he became our UN ambassador. That in itself was something a number of people in the UN never forgave him for.

He was a voice for transparency and reform in an institution that is fighting tooth and nail to avoid any semblance of those qualities.

American foreign policy and the cause of freedom has lost an important advocate with John Bolton's resignation.

He'll be missed.