In a confluence of circumstances creating the perfect flushing sound, John Bolton resigned yesterday "after careful consideration," meaning he knows how to count.
The world was not exactly swept with sorrow. Our president was.
That dichotomy -- that segregation of the faces; Bush all alone on one side, the entire global community on the other -- has come to define America's standing in the world: the disputatious loner, the disgruntled outcast, the dyspeptic renegade.
Generally and somewhat rationally speaking, disputatiousness, disgruntlement and dyspepsia all wrapped up in estrangement are not intentional diplomatic moods. They're not frames of mind that those charged with international negotiations shoot for as objectives in themselves, since the whole point of diplomacy is to positively move forward, not negatively dig in. The latter only leaves the diplomat's client in the corner, alone.
Yet to the world's befuddlement, those were precisely the objectives of Mr. Bush's personal representative at the United Nations.
In the New York Times' canvassing of Security Council members' parting sentiments, the consensus was that "they respected Mr. Bolton personally and that they thought he represented the United States well, but they said his manner -- often described as abrupt and confrontational -- alienated traditional American allies and undercut American influence.... [U.S.] policy is perceived as disdainful of diplomacy itself, heedless in its effects on others and single-minded in its assertion of American interests."
All the negatives noted -- abruptness, confrontation, alienation, disdain, heedlessness, single-mindedness -- were intentional. Except one: loss of American influence.
This was, for Mr. Bush, a surprisingly unexpected result of attributes that could fairly be summarized as mere, immature cockiness. And therein the lies the key, I think, to understanding why Bush insists on doing what no mature leader would do.
It lies in his privileged, distorted youth. He's unavoidably stuck in it.
As a wealthy and protected teenager, then young adult, then aspiring businessman, Bush could behave abruptly, confrontationally, disdainfully, heedlessly and single-mindedly and to hell with the alienating effects. He knew that somehow he would come out on top, because he could always count on family money, power and influence to bail him out when he pushed or bullied too far.
He could heedlessly let his mind go to seed and still attend, though not be bothered with actually studying at, the finest schools; he could disdainfully go to the head of the Vietnam-dodging line and still wear a uniform for fun; he could abruptly create disastrous business ventures and still profit.
Fast forward to middle age and he was still counting on magical promotions and privileged protection, no matter how distasteful his behavior. After monumentally screwing up the high office he was handed, Pop's Old Guard and others who serve his exalted status rush predictably to the rescue. It's OK, everything will be alright, we'll take care of it, you just go ahead and be you, George.
Personified by John Bolton's appointment, this was the comforting worldview with which Bush infiltrated the United Nations and global diplomacy. He believed the sum of his negatives would work out positively. And why not? It always has.
So in a perverse, demented way, Mr. Bush isn't at all untethered from reality, as popular wisdom now observes. Like the schizophrenic who can't understand why you don't hear the voices -- after all, they're quite real -- Bush is genuinely puzzled why his characteristic obnoxiousness and congenital bullying haven't once again produced wondrous resolutions and positive outcomes. That's the only world, the only reality, he's ever known. And he's thoroughly -- and appropriately, in a peculiar way -- tethered to it.
The sudden difference is, the world just doesn't give a damn any longer what Master George wants, or if he chews the Oval Office carpet when he doesn't get it.
Here's to two coming years of tough love.