No subject

To make matters worse=2C the Chair of IRI has sought to promote neo-cons=
ervative figures from the Bush regime such as John Bolton=2E During the =
latter=27s confirmation hearings in the Senate=2C McCain urged his Democ=
ratic colleagues to approve the diplomat=27s nomination quickly=2E Bolto=
n has been a hawk not only on Iran but also Venezuela=2E McCain=2C who r=
efers to Ch=E1vez as a =22wacko=2C=22 said it was important to confirm B=
olton=2E With Bolton at the United Nations=2C the U=2ES=2E would be able=
 to talk back to =22two-bit dictators=22 like the Venezuelan leader=2E

Like Bolton=2C McCain apparently shares his colleague=27s disdain for th=
e United Nations and wants to create a so-called League of Democracies=2E=
 As envisioned by the Arizona legislator=2C the new body would take the =
place of the United Nations on such issues as conflict resolution=2C dis=
ease treatment and prevention=2C environmental crises=2C and access to f=
ree markets=2E Interestingly=2C McCain=27s inspiration for the League is=
 Teddy Roosevelt=2C who had a vision of =22like-minded nations working t=
ogether for peace and liberty=2E=22

Roosevelt=2C however=2C was no dove=3A he wielded a Big Stick and practi=
ced gunboat diplomacy in Latin America=2E It=27s a policy which John McC=
ain would probably like to revive if he is elected President in November=
=2E

Nikolas Kozloff is the author of Hugo Ch=E1vez=3A Oil=2C Politics=2C and=
 the Challenge to the U=2ES=2E (Palgrave Macmillan=2C 2006)=2C and Revol=
ution! South America and the Rise of the New Left (Palgrave Macmillan=2C=
 April 2008)=2E