How to be a total jerk and still get ahead

The sound clips I've heard of the Bolton confirmation hearings have all been pretty much the same: Senator asks serious policy question, Bolton provides non-answer dripping with rudeness and condescension. And occasionally insults Bill Clinton for everything going wrong in the world.

Salon has a piece on how the hearings are going, documenting Bolton's show of "nothing but scorn" for his interlocutors. It's pretty sad.

Even worse, Republican Senator George Voinovich has changed his mind about Bolton. Last year, he gave an impassioned statement about the reasons why Bolton shouldn't be sent to the UN, breaking ranks from his rubber-stamp colleagues. Voinovich was certainly right, concerned as he was about Bolton's volatile temper and complete inability to work with other human beings. But now Voinovich is repeating White House talking points-- if we switch horses in midstream, the terrorists win. Yes, he not only changed his mind, but is resorting to the "criticism equals treason" argument for giving the neocons everything they want. Tragic.