Bush Pushes Back:

President Bush was not moved by Biden's mock hysteria or Voinovich's disloyalty. On April 21, the President said in a speech to the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America: "I welcome you to the Nation's Capital, where sometimes politics gets in the way of doing the people's business. Take John Bolton, the good man I nominated to represent our country at the United Nations. John's distinguished career in service to our nation demonstrates that he is the right man at the right time for this important assignment. I urge the Senate to put politics aside and confirm John Bolton to the United Nations." By April 26, Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Richard Lugar (R.-Ind.) was predicting that Voinovich would rejoin the President's side, that other wavering Republican committee members, Lincoln Chafee (R.I.), Chuck Hagel (Neb.) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), would also fall back in line, and that Bolton would be confirmed.