Beeeees!!!!
The Continuing Bushy Adventures of Mr. Moustache

Those damn Democratic Senators, not giving Mr. Moustache the up-or-down vote that he deserved. Here's what the President had to say about why he was making this recess appointment:

"America has now gone more than six months without a permanent ambassador to the United Nations," the president said. "This post is too important to leave vacant any longer, especially during a war and a vital debate about U.N. reform."

Salon's War Room makes a rebuttal to this assertion:

Let's take this one step at a time. U.N. Ambassador John Danforth announced on Dec. 2 that he'd be stepping down on Jan. 20. When Danforth's resignation became effective, his deputy, Anne Patterson, became the acting U.S. ambassador to the U.N., a role in which she will continue to serve until Bolton is sworn in. So is the post "vacant" right now? No, it's not, and Patterson is, by all accounts, fulfilling her duties quite competently. OK, but six months is "too long" to leave things in the hands of an acting ambassador, right? Well, maybe. But Bush has himself to blame for a good part of the delay. Bush could have announced his intention to nominate Bolton as soon as Danforth announced his resignation in December. Instead, the president waited nearly three months before finally nominating Bolton on March 7. And Bush could have gotten the up-or-down vote he wanted on Bolton's nomination weeks if not months ago if his administration had turned over documents involving Bolton that Democratic senators had requested. Having waited so long to name a nominee, and then having delayed matters further by refusing to turn over documents, Bush is in no real position to complain about the time the process has taken. And indeed, the process hasn't taken all that long, as these things go. As the Washington Post noted recently, an acting ambassador represented the United States at the United Nations for nine months in 2001; another acting ambassador served for 11 months in 1998 and 1999. But it's important to have a "permanent" ambassador, right? Sure, but if that's the case, then Bush should have scrapped the Bolton nomination and sent up someone who could have made it through the Senate and served at the U.N. for the remainder of Bush's term in office. By choosing instead to install Bolton through a recess appointment, Bush has achieved exactly the opposite of what he says America needs. As Think Progress notes today, recess appointments last only until the next session of Congress begins. Thus, Bolton's tenure at the United Nations will end in January 2007, just a year and a half from now. Bush could have had a "permanent" ambassador to the United Nations if he'd made the slightest effort to nominate a less confrontational candidate who could win the support of the U.S. Senate. As a result of his own choices, Bush has John Bolton instead -- a U.N. ambassador who will be a lame duck before he even takes office.

And then there's this reminder from today's Day to Day on NPR:

Madeleine Brand: And just last week we learned that Bolton did not answer an important question in his written responses to the committee, and that had to do with WMD intelligence and an investigation at the State Department. Don Gonyea: Right. It came up at the last moment. He was asked if he'd been interviewed as part of an investigation. And he said he had not. And then it came out that he had. The investigation was into claims that Iraq was trying to buy uranium from Niger. It's the same basic topic as that separate CIA leak investigation involving the special prosecutor. Again, Bolton was not questioned as it relates to that, but on a similar topic, and said he hadn't been questioned when he had.

Which all makes President Bush sound like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy (one of Mrs F's fave flicks), creating a fantastical excuse to a state trooper for why he was driving erratically (it's really better if you listen to it, here via MP3):

Tommy: "Bees! Bees! Bees in the car! Bees Everywhere! God, they're huge! They're ripping my flesh off!"
Cop afraid of Bees: "Son, uh, roll around. You hear me? Roll around on the ground!"
Tommy: "Forget that! I'm starting to swell up!"
Richard: "Save yourself. Don't be the hero!"
Cop afraid of Bees: "Frank, I'm alergic to bees."
Cop afraid of Bees Frank (Adrian Truss): "Me, too."
Tommy: "They're huge, and they're sting crazy!"
Cop afraid of Bees Frank: "We'll come back later and check on you!"
Cop afraid of Bees: "Yeah, in a while."
Richard: "Save yourself!"
Tommy: "Your firearms are worthless against them!"