Leaned on from both sides of the political aisle, Rhode Island's junior senator explains his steady support for John Bolton's bid to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations: An executive must be allowed to assemble his team.

01:00 AM EDT on Thursday, April 14, 2005

BY MARK ARSENAULT
Journal Staff Writer

The lobbying of Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee to support or derail the nomination of John Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations has included personal calls from the secretary of state and the White House chief of staff, plus radio, TV and Internet advertising, and "hundreds" of telephone calls to Chafee's Washington and Providence offices.

Having annoyed party leadership by opposing the president's tax cuts and the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Chafee, R-Rhode Island, says he has grown used to being pressured.

"If anything, through the course of time I'd say it has lessened in its intensity," Chafee said yesterday in a phone interview. "I guess I've been used to it. There have been so many votes going way back -- even under President Clinton -- pressures from the party to toe the party line."

When President Bush announced Bolton's nomination, "I said to myself, 'Oh my gosh, here comes another one.' As if there aren't enough issues we spar over. This one was going to be difficult."

Bolton is a staunch conservative who has disparaged the U.N. in media interviews. Chafee favors mending international relationships.

Still, the Rhode Island Republican, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is inclined to stick with his party and President Bush when the committee votes on Bolton's nomination, Chafee said.

The committee vote on Bolton had been scheduled for today; the vote was pushed off late yesterday until next week, according to the Associated Press.

Chafee says that no one in the Bush administration has threatened him politically, or openly promised him anything, over the Bolton vote.

"But I think I can read the tea leaves," Chafee said. "It's just human nature that when I need something they'll remember this if I stick with them."

Chafee cited his time as mayor of Warwick in explaining his lean toward supporting Bolton.

"Having been the mayor, you try to put together a team, and a big part of your job is to administer the bureaucracy," he said. "You want who you want where you want them. Sometimes it's a little bit out of the ordinary. I can remember as mayor putting people in some places that the City Council was not happy with, but I was grateful they were able to vote with me on them."

White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card called Chafee early in the process after a Boston Globe story suggested that Chafee might oppose the nomination, Chafee said.

"He wanted to know if I changed my mind," he said, "They were on top of it and had somehow seen the Globe article. I said, 'No, I'm still listening, still consistent and want to go through the process. If there is some really damaging testimony, I want to reserve the right to say no, but generally would be inclined to vote yes.' "

The Democrats who have announced runs for Chafee's seat, former state Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse and Secretary of State Matthew Brown, have criticized Chafee's inclination to support Bolton.

But Chafee does not expect to lose support at home if he supports Bolton, due to a consistent position on supporting executive appointments, he said.

"You fight hard for an election, and when you win you get to put together your team," he said. "I've been very consistent."

He noted that he supported President Bush's nomination of John Ashcroft as attorney general. "Ashcroft was tough," he said. "I had a lot of calls against him also."

Digital Extra: Cast your vote on how Sen. Lincoln D. Chafee should vote on the nomination of John R. Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, at:

http://projo.com/boltonsurvey/