There is hope in this world.

Two things...

First, a very intriguing story/diary from DKos. I encourage all to go check it out. It's definitely worth reading, especially if you're feeling slightly down and all.

Next... Dems block vote on Bolton, according to WaPost.

Senate Democrats today rebuffed President Bush's call for an immediate vote on his nomination of John R. Bolton to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, instead opting to keep debate open until the administration provides documents that Democratic leaders have requested...

Among those voting against the cloture motion were Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) and Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.).

I KNEW Sen. Voinovich had some GUT in him, after all. Gosh, I will send him flowers if he ever changes his party identification. Flowers and my (almost) undivided admiration.

I guess one could call this a mini-filibuster. Then again, not really. It's not any senator's fault for not voting due to lack of cooperation from the White House.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said tonight's vote was "not about John Bolton" but about the Senate's right to demand information to make its decisions, regardless of whether the executive branch deems the information relevant.

Well said. By the way, Sen. Biden has announced a very possible candidacy for president in 2008. Why won't the State Department release those damn documents? It's a perfectly legitimate question. I mean, the administration expects its people to open up to the government about everything, assuming that those who don't have something to hide. Yet, they refuse to abide by a traditionally proper procedure (and in Nixon's case with Watergate tapes, mandated by Supreme Court ruling).

Senate Democrats today rebuffed President Bush's call for an immediate vote on his nomination of John R. Bolton to be the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, instead opting to keep debate open until the administration provides documents that Democratic leaders have requested.

This time, nobody can cry out "obstruction". Well, actually, the Democrats can, since it's the Republican administration that's witholding the documents.

Montague and I are having too much fun drawing Nixon comparisons. When the Ervin congressional committee on Watergate asked for Nixon's tapes (gosh, why did he tape his criminal conversations anyway?), he refused their subpoena on the grounds of "executive priviledge" until the Supreme Court ruled against Nixon and ordered the tapes to be handed over. Nobody is quoting Nixon, but that's what it seems like to me. I'm not using some twisted Coulteresque logic. I just call it like I see it.

Terry M. Neal makes a good point:

[Washington] is a place where a president can try to score political points by accusing the opposition party of -- gasp! -- opposing his agenda. This is a place where the opposition party can try to score political points by opposing the president's agenda without offering much in the way of its own vision.

And more from Mr. Neal in his column "Talking Points":

Second terms are always difficult. Bush will never run for president again; and even if it's early in his second term, the party is already anticipating a future without him. Compounding that historical difficulty are Bush's tumbling approval ratings. Bush's approval rating is far lower than any other second-term president at this stage in his term. While Bush remains popular with conservatives, his support among moderates and independents has tumbled. That means many members of Congress who represent either moderate districts or states have little to fear by straying off the partisan plantation.

Exactly. It's not 2006 yet, but this still gives Democrats more leverage... and seeing the recent press, more GUT.

Needless to say, I'm lovin' it.

Oh, and on a completely irrelevant note... Christie S. Cho (or Sung Ah Cho, as stated on the legal documents) is now licenced by the State of California to DRIVE. And I just realized how sexist insurance policies are. No wonder nobody cared about the ERA. I mean, if I were the dominant gender ALL the time, I'd NEVER want ANYTHING to change.