While apologists for John Bolton defend their guy for getting a recess appointment, let's remember that President Clinton's nominee for UN Ambassador Richard Holbrooke actually turned down a recess appointment.

From the Washington Note a few days ago:

"The Holbrooke revelation came out earlier this week, thanks to Janine Zacharia and Roger Runningen, two reporters for Bloomberg. They wrote:

At one point during the long stalemate, White House officials raised the prospect of a recess appointment with Holbrooke, according to two people who were involved in the matter. Holbrooke refused, saying it would diminish his credibility at UN.

The recess appointment idea for Holbrooke was not public knowledge, even among most foreign policy insiders. Rather than accept the offer and weaken our hand at the UN, Holbrooke waited - for what turned out to be 14 long months. And Holbrooke, unlike Bolton, had the support of majorities in both parties."