When President Bush named Secretary Bolton his ambassador to the United Nations in a recess appointment in the face of a Senate filibuster, the left was apoplectic. A New York Times editorial called Mr. Bolton “damaged goods.” Senator Kennedy spoke of “the cloud over Mr. Bolton’s credibility at the U.N.” Senator Durbin avowed that Mr. Bolton was “the wrong choice…not the person for the job.” Senator Biden said, “We need someone who has credibility with the international community and Americans can trust. That is not John Bolton.”

Even some Republican Senators and former Bush administration officials aired doubts. Senator Voinovich of Ohio said he was “concerned about Mr. Bolton’s interpersonal skills” and warned, “there is no doubt that Mr. Bolton has serious deficiencies in the areas that are critical to be a good ambassador.” The man who served as chief of staff to Secretary Powell, Lawrence Wilkerson, called Mr. Bolton an “abysmal” choice as ambassador.

Six months later, Mr. Bolton’s opponents look like – it’s hard to put a more polite face on it – a bunch of fools. Mr. Bolton’s been on the job for a reasonable amount of time, and the only credibility that has suffered is that of Messrs. Kennedy, Voinovich, and Biden and their ilk. Contrary to their predictions, Mr. Bolton has been a constructive force at Turtle Bay and in New York City, a representative of whom the State Department, the Bush administration, and the American government can be proud.

He’s been particularly assertive in challenging anti-Israel activity at the United Nations. He’d only been on the job few days when he reacted strongly against the U.N.’s funding of a Palestinian Arab banner bearing the slogan “Today Gaza, Tomorrow the West Bank and Jerusalem.” On January 3, he sent Secretary General Annan a letter describing it as “entirely inappropriate” for three top U.N. officials to have appeared at an event with a “map of Palestine” displayed that erased the state of Israel, a political blunder on the part of the Secretary General that was spotted and put into sharp relief by the Web site “Eye on the U.N.”

Mr. Bolton has been an honored and warmly received speaker at many events in the city’s Jewish community, including dinners or conferences sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the Zionist Organization of America, and the Anti-Defamation League. It’s not just the Jewish community. Scores of organizations, individuals, homes, from all parts of the New York City community have seen the constructive spirit of Mr. Bolton’s engagement. The Jewish community is noteworthy because its hopes for the world body have been particularly disappointed by the United Nations in recent years.

Mr. Bolton hasn’t succeeded in entirely cleaning up the United Nations. He has helped shine a light on some of its failings while working to use it as much as is possible to help deal with some of the world’s problems, such as the rogue regimes in Damascus and Tehran. To do that he has worked closely with ambassadors from American allies such as Israel and Japan. U.N. ambassadors who have worked closely with Mr. Bolton were stunned at the gap between the caricature that was portrayed in the Senate hearings and the man. Even his most fierce political Turtle Bay opponents admit in private conversations that Mr. Bolton’s diplomacy is far deeper and more sophisticated than they have expected. His mastery of the diplomatic game gained America some important points in the battle for U.N. reform, as well as in daily battles on the hottest issues of the day, from Iran to Syria. In the maneuvering over the next secretary general, Mr. Bolton has been particularly adroit.

The whole story poses a challenge to Senators Clinton and Schumer, who are quick to caricature Mr. Bolton and his allies in the Bush administration as stubborn ideologues. Mr. Bolton’s recess appointment expires when this Congress adjourns, which is likely to be in October. Given that Mr. Schumer and Mrs. Clinton like to portray themselves as both friends of Israel and members of the reality based community, it’s hard to see how they can justify opposing Mr. Bolton again after Mr. Bolton’s critics have been so thoroughly proven wrong by the experience of the past six months. In the face of Mr. Bolton’s strong record at the U.N., senators opposing his confirmation to the ambassador’s post on a permanent basis expose themselves as impervious to evidence.