I still don’t get it. Are we to believe that successful diplomats always treat the staff nicely? Senators are known for their decorum towards each other. However, last time I checked, some of them can be real jerks to their staffers or to government functionaries. Does that mean they shouldn’t be Senators? Does anyone think Bolton is going to scream at the foreign minister of China on the floor of the General Assembly simply because he’s known for yelling at fellow bureaucrats when he needs to get results? What, precisely, is the connection? What, exactly, is the concern?

Again, I’m not defending being a jerk to your subordinates. If he is, shame on him. But it sounds like he’s more of a skull-cracker to get results. And, whatever he is, it is a new and absurd standard to say that a government official has to play nicey-nice on the staff in order to be confirmable.