Submitted by Eugene, Dec 4, 2006 10:04

John Bolton, by many published accounts, is a "kiss-up-kick-down" organization-man, an archtype not typically engendering respect and admiration. I've met a few of his ilk, and generally find them contemptible, devious, dishonest in a most fundamental regard, and even repulsive. Despite that, one must admit however grudglingly, that Mr. Bolton was not ineffective in the halls of the U.N.

Thus we are presented with an old dilemma: is effectiveness, even in the presence of grotesque character faults, the sine qua non of the bureaucrat?

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