Dubya: I'm a uniter, not a divider

diplomat -- (dpl-mt)
n.

1. One, such as an ambassador, who has been appointed to represent a government in its relations with other governments.
2. One who uses skill and tact in dealing with others.

Sen. Voinovich (R-Ohio):

[John Bolton]... the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be.

Scott McClellan, White House Press Sec'y:

"The president believes he's exactly the right person for the position," McClellan said. "That's why he appointed him to the position. He's someone who has a proven record as a diplomat who achieves results."

There you have it. The president believes that "exactly the right person" for the job of U.N. Ambassador is someone who is a "poster child for what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be." Nothing could be clearer. Someone with "sharp elbows" rather than someone who can work effectively with others "with skill and tact" to achieve his objectives.

Preznit Dipshit is hell-bent on sending a bull into the china shop.

This recent headline and lead paragraphs from Pravda sums it up pretty well:

George W. Bush: An insult to our collective intelligence
05/09/2005 11:51

President of the USA is provocative and aggressive instead of conciliatory and diplomatic

Let us compare for one instant the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States of America. On one side, we have a President whose policy is directed towards improving relations with the international community in a climate of friendship and peace (principles which guided the foreign policy of the USSR) and in tandem with the norms of international law as stipulated by the UNO. On the other, a roving cowboy, taming the wilderness with his gun and his Bible, with an absence of tact and diplomacy.

Diplomacy, debate, dialogue and discussion are the basic precepts of democracy, a word much referred to by the USA but unfortunately not practised in principle and diplomacy, debate, dialogue and discussion are for sure the four words which summarise Moscow's foreign policy, while Washington's continues to be dominated by bullying, blackmail, belligerence and bullishness.

The damage that this administration has done to the perception of the U.S. in the court of world opinion in a mere 4 1/2 years will take decades to heal.