Frank Gaffney is not impressed with the switch in tactics that the Democrats have adopted in opposition ot John Bolton.

Set aside the question of whether there is anything to these charges; Bolton's side of the story has either not been presented or suggests legitimate grounds for frustration and even irritation with those who accuse him of getting angry with them.

The Democrats' campaign against Bolton compels one to ask: Are senators really prepared to make displays of anger from time to time, whether directed at subordinates or others, a disqualifier for high public office? After all, several of Bolton's most strident critics have notoriously ugly tempers. For example, John Kerry's quest for the presidency last Fall was marked by repeated allegations of his contemptuous, abusive, and high-handed treatment of campaign staff, Secret Service personnel, journalists and even ordinary citizens. Democratic members of the Foreign Relations Committee have been known to dress down staffers in open hearings for their perceived failings. And a hardy perennial of the Clinton White House years were tales of now-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's penchant for throwing lamps and the like in the Residence.

The truth of the matter is that few, if any, of Bolton's accusers can safely cast the first stone when it comes to "anger management." By trawling for weeks for anecdotes from self-declared aggrieved parties, they have invited similar campaigns to be mounted against them. It is hard to believe that the quality of political discourse — let alone its products — will be enhanced by further travel down this road.