Bush woos Democrats despite divisions on UN post

[Ron Burgundy]

Reuters - President Bush courted leaders of the Senate's new Democratic majority on Friday while pressing ahead with a divisive bid to get John Bolton confirmed as U.N. envoy before power changes hands in Congress.

Adapting to new political realities after Democrats won control of both chambers in Tuesday's elections, Bush met senior opposition lawmakers who will have increased influence over his policies at home and abroad, starting with the unpopular war in Iraq.

"The election's over. The problems haven't gone away," Bush said at the end of the meeting. "There is a great opportunity for us to show the country ... that we can work together."

But the call for bipartisanship after years of bitter political combat between Bush's Republicans and their Democratic rivals could be undercut by his renewed effort to push through Bolton's nomination.

Despite a more conciliatory tone, Bush on Thursday urged the outgoing Republican-led Senate to confirm Bolton, a favorite of conservatives, before Democrats gain formal control in January.

Democrats derailed Bolton's confirmation last year, saying he used an earlier job as top U.S. diplomat for arms control to manipulate intelligence to promote his hawkish views. He has been serving as U.N. envoy under a temporary appointment by Bush that allows him to stay on until January.

Senate Democrats, joined by Republican Sen. Lincoln Chafee (news, bio, voting record) of Rhode Island, are vowing to block the renomination, imperiling Bush's attempt to keep Bolton in the post.

"Democrats have real concerns with John Bolton. And Bolton has problems with Republican support as well," said Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada.

If Bolton goes, he will be the second major casualty since Republicans suffered humiliating defeats in congressional elections, hammered by voters disillusioned with Bush's handling of Iraq.

Bush quickly announced the resignation of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, the lightning rod for criticism of Iraq policy, and insisted he was open to new ideas on the conduct of the war. Iraq figured prominently on Friday in his talks with Senate Democrats, who have called for a change of course.

'FAIR SHAKE'

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Bolton had "earned the right" to be Washington's permanent U.N. representative.

"What we ought to do right now is simply allow senators in the lame-duck session to see if they will give John Bolton a fair shake," he told reporters. "The president wants it."

Snow insisted the move was not "necessarily provocative."

Opponents of the nomination said Tuesday's elections, widely seen as the voters' repudiation of Bush's Iraq strategy, showed a new direction was needed in foreign policy.

Without Chafee's support, his fellow Republicans on the Foreign Relations Committee do not have enough votes to recommend Bolton's confirmation.

With Democrats controlling both the Senate and House for the first time in 12 years, they will have the power to cripple Bush's legislative agenda in his final two years in office.

Controversial bills such as Bush's proposal for broader broader domestic wiretapping powers could be doomed.

Faced with a new political landscape in Washington, Bush met Harry Reid and Democratic whip Richard Durbin at the White House on Friday after holding talks with the Democratic House leadership on Thursday.

"The only way to move forward is with bipartisanship and openness, and to get some results," Reid told reporters.

Just how long the new mood of cooperation lasts may depend on the looming 2008 presidential race.

Reid has urged Bush to convene a bipartisan summit on Iraq, but the White House was noncommittal on Friday. Democrats have made clear they will exert strong pressure on Bush for a policy shift in Iraq amid rising U.S. casualties and violence.

The White House has insisted Bush is open to changes in tactics but not in strategy on Iraq.

Analysts say a bipartisan commission co-chaired by Bush family loyalist and former Secretary of State James Baker could give the president a face-saving way to begin extricating U.S. forces from Iraq when it offers recommendations expected soon. Bush is due to meet the panel on Monday.

In further election fallout, the White House confirmed Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman, a Bush ally who guided his 2004 re-election, would not seek a second term.

(Additional reporting by Caren Bohan)