# John Bolton (R, duh) for Prez? Has he a prayer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [March 6, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058 "2014-03-06T23:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/1 "2014-03-06T23:29:22Z")
Am I the first to mention this here lately? I just noticed this article, in which Former U. N. Ambassador John Bolton (remember him? If so, regret it?) hints that he’s thinking of running for Prez in 2016. [John Bolton’s address to conservatives was heavy on 2016 talk](http://news.yahoo.com/john-bolton-address-to-conservatives-heavy-on-2016-talk-172551850.html). A brief Google search shows that he’s been discussed here on SDMB many many times, mostly from his tenure as U. N. Ambassador. And there was a brief flurry of scuttlebutt about him maybe running for Veep in 2012 under the Palin/Bolton ticket. Does the guy even have a prayer? I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe, he does. (Gulp.) He’s famous for staking out some outrageously hard-line hawkish foreign policy positions, but he doesn’t seem to be in the same league as the far-right Tea Party type of loons. He seems to have some strong foreign policy chops, and argues that foreign policy – specifically, a very hard-line foreign policy – should be a major focus of our political attention. Could he prove to be the Conservative Messiah that the Right Wing Faithful have been praying for? Could he emerge as the right wing candidate with legs? ---
**Author:** ![SuperDopaminergic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@SuperDopaminergic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperDopaminergic)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/2 "2014-03-07T00:34:15Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Does the guy even have a prayer? I’m thinking that maybe, just maybe, he does. (Gulp.) He’s famous for staking out some outrageously hard-line hawkish foreign policy positions, but he doesn’t seem to be in the same league as the far-right Tea Party type of loons. He seems to have some strong foreign policy chops, and argues that foreign policy – specifically, a very hard-line foreign policy – should be a major focus of our political attention. He has no prayer. He has no political savvy, and he’s too obviously a lunatic to be viable in even the Republican primaries. But as we’ve saw last go-round, anyone can be front-runner for a minute, and he might be able to collect a nice payday when it’s all said and done. As for his “strong foreign policy chops,” there’s no doubt that he’s worked in the arena of foreign policy, but he’s been wrong on every major relevant issue and his “foreign policy chops” would be a liability, not a credential. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/3 "2014-03-07T00:41:38Z")
The last thing the Republicans want to be talking about right now is foreign policy. ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/4 "2014-03-07T00:47:20Z")
Boy do I hope he runs, and boy do I hope he gets the nomination. Go Bolton!! ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/5 "2014-03-07T00:57:38Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > Boy do I hope he runs, and boy do I hope he gets the nomination. Go Bolton!! I’m supposing you mean here, that if Bolton gets the nomination, it would assure that the Democratic candidate would win the election. Well, if so, that would be great. So, what about the politics in the primaries? Does Bolton have a good chance of becoming the darling of the Right and winning the nomination? Or would he be just another loony flash-in-the-pan, as **SuperDopaminergic** suggests? Or would his interest in foreign policy just be the wrong thing at the wrong time for Republicans, as **Chronos** suggests? ---
**Author:** ![2sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/2/e47774/32.png) [@2sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/2sense)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/6 "2014-03-07T06:29:14Z")
I vote with **SuperDopaminergic**. It’s a good career move for him even after he crumbles when the light of being a favorite is shined his way. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/7 "2014-03-07T06:47:05Z")
I doubt he’d even get as far as the “front runner for a day” that Herman Cain or other joke-GOP candidates got. Even in the GOP, the whole Neo-conservative thing seems to be pretty dead. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/8 "2014-03-07T07:58:28Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > …the whole Neo-conservative thing seems to be pretty dead. Head chopped off, mouth stuffed with garlic, lips sewn shut, heart taken out and burned and stake driven into the ashes, buried at a crossroads and nuked from orbit. Couple of times. “Pretty dead” is going to get it. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/9 "2014-03-07T10:51:37Z")
Bolton has no chance. Neocons’ political fortunes aside, Bolton occupies the same niche as Alexander Haig, only with less gravitas. Bolton was thinking of running in 2012 too. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/10 "2014-03-07T13:56:29Z")
This is a guy who had his 15 minutes of fame and wants it back. It’s over, John. You aren’t going to be elected to anything. Now shave off that ridiculous mustache and go away. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/11 "2014-03-07T15:18:58Z")
He WOULD give us the best mustache in the White House since Teddy Roosevelt. Can’t argue with that. But he has no chance. The real issue of the 2016 republican primary campaign will be this: Will the Republican Primary Voters (RPV) go through the same thing they did last time? Will they flirt with the ‘true conservatives’, some of whom are wacky and non-serious but some of whom are very serious, and then select an establishment type a la McCain or Romney or will they finally commit and nominate the ‘true conservative’ to see what happens. No one has an answer to that yet. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/12 "2014-03-07T15:41:36Z")
Bolton is a neocon – I don’t think they have as much clout in the GOP as they used to, and their appeal to the Tea Party wing is limited – the TPers are at least nominally about fiscal conservatism, and imperialism costs a lot of tax dollars. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/13 "2014-03-07T15:44:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Bolton has no chance. Agreed. But I like designating him (R-Duh). That sounds about right. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/14 "2014-03-07T15:50:04Z")
The problem with Bolton isn’t just that he’s a neo-con; it’s that he’s a king-sized asshole. And not a charming-down-home-asshole like Perry or a straight-talking-asshole like Christie. Nope, he’s just a pure-D sonuvabitch-grade asshole whose mustache is the only remotely likeable thing about him. He may get a small following but he’s the sort to alienate people every time he speaks. He won’t run. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2014, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/john-bolton-r-duh-for-prez-has-he-a-prayer/683058/15 "2014-03-07T19:57:40Z")
Anyone can think of running. But is there anyone with money who will give him some? Is he going to volunteer to campaign for Republican candidates in 2014, and will they say “no way” or more likely “who’s he?” He got press coverage, which, if he is even slightly sane, is the best he can expect.