Shocking, yes, but I have no doubt the Bush administration would do it

if an attack on iran is indeed in the offing, bushco needs a tried and true ideological zealot at the u.n., and will do anything it takes to keep bolton there...

So far, there has been no sign that the Bush administration's considerable efforts to get Ambassador John Bolton confirmed are yielding any success in changing the environment currently blocking him.

But the White House has considered a shocking plan to keep the Ambassador in his position at the UN that may not involve a second recess appointment to his current position -- which would mean that he could not be compensated, may not be eligible for travel funds, may not be able to actually use government facilities for his work, and would possibly be time limited to a certain number of days that he could remain in this position, even if largely stripped of all taxpayer support.

The White House is studying appointing Bolton as one of the deputies at the United Nations, specifically the "political deputy." This position also carries the title of Ambassador, as do four other slots at the US Mission to the UN. Bolton would take a pay cut, and would then be made "Acting Ambassador" and chief of mission.

Those I have bounced this news off in the diplomatic community are stunned by even the conceptualization of this strategy and have a hard time believing that the administration would allow itself to appear in such a desperate position to retain Bolton.

I have no indication that this course is "likely." I only know that it is on the roster of options being considered about Bolton.

i'm often amused by steve clemons' dogged insistence on exhorting the bush administration to think and act through what most of us would consider a rational template... power, money, control, and global hegemony are the only prisms through which bushco can be viewed... once you've got that firmly implanted in your consciousness, it all makes perfect sense...

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