White House reiterates endorsement for Bolton

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The Bush administration yesterday gave a strong endorsement of John R. Bolton, trying to boost the president's embattled pick to be ambassador to the United Nations in the face of wavering Republican support.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, traveling in Russia, called for his confirmation and said he is the right man, and White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said Democrats were showing "the ugly side of Washington, D.C." in playing politics with the nomination.

"Senate Democrats on the committee continue to bring up these allegations that are unsubstantiated, that are unfounded, that John Bolton has addressed in his testimony," Mr. McClellan said.

Republicans had expected Tuesday to approve Mr. Bolton on a party-line vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, setting up a vote in the full Senate. Instead, Sen. George V. Voinovich, Ohio Republican and a member of the committee, announced he no longer could support Mr. Bolton, so committee Chairman Richard G. Lugar, Indiana Republican, delayed the vote for three weeks.

Republican Sens. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island also said at the meeting they wanted questions answered. Democrats say the nomination now is in peril.

"He's damaged goods," said Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Connecticut Democrat.

He said he expected yesterday's embrace of Mr. Bolton by administration officials, but that when the president has a few more days to look at the situation he might change his mind.

"My preference would be they withdraw the nomination and give us a different candidate," Mr. Dodd said.

Democrats have accused Mr. Bolton, currently the undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, of showing a pattern of bullying colleagues and lower-level staffers to try to influence them on issues related to intelligence. Those are the questions that are troubling the Republican senators.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli said the administration was "disappointed" by the delay and rejected complaints by Senate Democrats that the department had not cooperated fully in the confirmation process.