"Bolton’s deeper sin is to believe that democracy matters"

Andrew Sullivan on the nomination of John Bolton:

Bolton’s real sin is to see the UN for what it is: an assembly of representatives of all world governments — some of which are democratic, some autocratic, and some of which are outright kleptomaniac, genocidal dictators.

This body can sometimes be effective in limited ways, but more often it defends the international status quo and sustains corruption.

Bolton’s deeper sin is to believe that democracy matters, that democratic regimes are more easily dealt with than non-democratic regimes and that institutions — such as the UN — that make no distinction between them have a serious credibility problem.