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Appointed by President George Bush to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, this is a most prestigious and important appointment, especially in the international scenario of a split United Nations over support of our country's actions in Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan.
Unfortunately (and somewhat unbelievably), the Associated Press did not initially cover the hearing, and I'm unaware of any network television coverage.
However, the following story by St. Louis Post Dispatch Washington Bureau reporter Philip Dine caught the flavor of the hearing, which I felt needed to be shared. The headline was "Much of Senate hearing was lovefest reflecting nominee's popularity."
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WASHINGTON -- Senators considering John C. Danforth's seemingly certain confirmation as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations pressed him Thursday to push the White House to work more closely with the world organization.
The strong praise for Danforth from both Republican and Democratic senators that marked a two-hour Foreign Relations Committee session left little doubt that the panel would support his nomination. Members -- eight of whom had served with Danforth when he represented Missouri in the Senate for 18 years -- cited his integrity, independence and intellect.
But senators stressed those very traits in calling on Danforth to fight within the administration to improve U.S. relations with the United Nations and with countries that have soured over the American-led war with Iraq.
"I hope, because of who you are, that you will stand up and take it to the mat -- use the moral force of your position to make this thing work, Jack," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., the committee's most senior member.
Biden said the administration had already squandered various chances to "share the burden in Iraq" by enlisting broader support.
"With your help, I hope we don't miss any more," Biden said. He urged Danforth to "consider what a consequential figure you are" -- and use that influence in internal administration battles for the president's ear.
Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., noting what he called "the ambivalence of some in the current administration" toward the United Nations, said he "can't think of a better person" than Danforth to challenge that point of view.
| Danforth, a moderate Republican now working as a lawyer in St. Louis, responded that as ambassador he would represent President George W. Bush, rather than serving as a "separate policy center." | But Danforth added that he would not have agreed to take the job if he didn't believe the United nations should -- and will -- play a significant role as the United States and other nations battle terrorism. |
| And he divulged that when Bush called him two weeks ago, just before the nomination was announced, the president "told me we can't win the war on terrorism without the United Nations. That was all I needed to hear." | Sen. Lincoln Chafee, R-R.I., said no one was more qualified than Danforth to "heal the divisions" between the United States and other nations, given his experience and skill in dealing with people. |
Biden asked Danforth to submit in writing steps that could be taken to enhance the U.N.'s role in world affairs and the U.S. part in that role -- though Biden said he would not hold up the nomination on that basis.
| Committee sources say the panel will vote on Danforth's confirmation in less than a week, and probably send it a day or two later to the full Senate for a vote, because they want him in the job as soon as possible. |
In describing how he came to accept the position, Danforth said that a week before Bush called, an administration official broached the topic of the job to him.
"I was sitting in my office three weeks ago, having a perfectly good life, when I got a call from the White House," Danforth said. "I knew immediately that I had a problem, because I knew it was something I couldn't say no to."
He said he agreed because the United States now faced "insane" forces bent on its destruction, as opposed to the "sane" Soviet Union.
| "I don't know that anybody knows how to deal with them," he said. "I don't. But I do sense that we better get our act together -- and by us I mean the international community." | On the Middle East conflict, Danforth said he would oppose efforts by other nations "to treat Israel as a verbal punching bag" and to pass one-sided resolutions against it. The administration's road map for peace is a balanced one that considers the rights of Palestinians and Israel's right to security, he said. |
| Danforth, an Episcopal priest, also called on Muslim, Christian and other religious leaders throughout the world to speak more loudly for tolerance and against terrorism, calling the silence "deafening." | At the outset, the hearing seemed like a Missouri reunion, with Missouri Sens. Jim Talent and Christopher "Kit" Bond, both Republicans, joining former Sen. Tom Eagleton, D-Mo., in introducing Danforth. The nominee put in a plug for bipartisan cooperation in Congress by recalling the relationship he had with Eagleton -- despite their differing party labels and positions on many issues -- a model. |
Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., challenged Danforth on the administration's withholding of funds for U. N. family-planning efforts.
"I have one issue that you know we disagree on, because you read it in the papers today. Every year more than 500,000 women die from pregnancy or childbirth-related causes, most in developing countries," Boxer said.
She asked Danforth to meet with at least one member of a three-person State Department commission that has recommended the funding be reinstated. He readily agreed.
At the hearing as the State Department official who prepared Danforth over the past week. The official, Samuel V. Brock, later called Danforth "the greatest student I've ever had. He's fun to work with."
The goodwill Danforth enjoyed in the Senate was reflected by the presence Thursday of Robert Foster, a staff assistant on the Commerce Committee in the late 1980s before Danforth, as chairman, gave him a chance to move up to a professional staff position.
"The greatest experience I had working with him was that he knew all the staff," Foster said later. "He made sure we were invited to all the functions, he asked about our families, he always remembered the staff by name. He was one of the greatest chairmen we ever had."
Gary Rust is the chairman of Rust Communications parent company of the Daily Dunklin Democrat.
