After the Bolton nomination brought howls of opposition from Democrats, I wondered out loud what Peter Beinart would say. Now we know. In his column in today’s Washington Post Beinart says Bolton is the wrong man for the job. Beinart explains that in the era of Ambassadors Moynihan and Kirkpatrick, the U.S. was in need of tough-talking champions because it was besieged by Third World dictatorships at the U.N. Yet now that we must lead a group of friendly democracies at the U.N., says Beinart, a bomb-thrower like Bolton is not what’s required. Actually, at a moment when European bureaucrats are straining to nullify the concept of national sovereignty, John Bolton is exactly what we need. At a moment when the U.N. is about to face down nuclear misbehavior by Iran and North Korea, John Bolton is far and away our best bet.

But why look at the merits of the case? It’s more likely that Beinart is cleverly positioning himself for his purge of Democrat doves. By opposing Bolton, Beinart gains the sort of credibility with the Democrat street that will allow him to turn against MoveOn.org. Whether or not the Arab street is a myth, the Democrat street is all too real. I can see why Beinart needs to kowtow to it on Bolton. I just don’t think he’ll ever be able to cross the Democrat street–without getting flattened. And I still say opposing Bolton is going to make the Democrats look bad with the country as a whole.