For those still unconvinced that the national Republicans were as clueless as they seemed in this past election cycle, one convincing piece of evidence comes from syndicated columnist Robert Novak. Unbelievably, the White House was surprised by Senator Lincoln Chafee’s intransigence on confirming John Bolton as United Nations Ambassador…

The fecklessness at the White House in managing Bolton’s nomination is exemplified by the feeling there to the end that Chafee could be brought along. Having poured money into Chafee’s Rhode Island Republican primary campaign against a conservative challenger, Bush in private is furious over betrayal by the maverick Republican. Chafee’s fellow GOP senators believe that if he were re-elected, he would have permitted Bolton’s name to go to the Senate floor. Quirky to the end, Chafee says the Democratic election victory is reason to block Bolton.