Ah, The Power of Congressional Recess

President George Bush continues to use his own brand of Strategery and flex his muscle this week as congress begins their recess. After demanding that congress push through some tough legislation before recess, our elected representatives didn't have enough time left to reconcile some confirmation proceedings for Bush's nominees to key positions in national and international circles. That left Bush with the daunting tasks (ok, not really daunting) of having to appoint his nominees all by himself, as the Constitution gives such a right to the president when congress is recessed. These appointments serve until the end of this congress in January 2007.

The big news, of course, is his appointment of John Bolton to represent the US at the United Nations, after the Senate proceedings were blocking Bolton's confirmation. Today's headlines read "Bolton Chitchats with (Kofi) Annan." Annan is the secretary-general of the UN. Wonder what Bolton had to say to his arch-nemesis Annan? Hopefully, Bolton is apologizing for past, current, and future crassness that he is bound to yield with the UN. There's nothing like putting a time bomb in an institution that denied Bush's requests to wage war in Iraq. Now, it's time to watch the fireworks and see if the UN will implode before 2007.

On a lower note, President Bush also appointed Peter Flory as the assistant secretary of defense (international security policy), another one of Bush's nominees that stalled during confirmation proceedings in the Senate. Flory replaces a vacancy left by J.D. Crouch over a year ago. (I'm sure "crouch" is not a position the Bush Administration wants to be known for.)

Ah, the Power of Congressional Recess!