Bolton, Eyeing Possible Presidential Bid, Backs Boehner’s Debt-Ceiling Plan

Former UN Ambassador and possible Republican presidential candidate John R. Bolton joined ex-Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman in endorsing Speaker of the House John Boehner’s debt-ceiling plan on Wednesday.

“All conservatives, especially those concerned with American national security, should support the Boehner Plan,” said the 62-year-old former diplomat in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Acknowledging that Boehner’s plan was “far from perfect,” Bolton cautioned that it’s impossible to “know exactly how financial markets will react to the various scenarios that might play out over the next several days, but the potential cost of finding out what the defeat of the Boehner Plan would be is not worth the risk.”

His statement was obviously directed toward recalcitrant Tea Party members of the House.

“If America’s prospects for economic recovery are gravely impaired, if President Obama is able to turn the inevitable turmoil to his political advantage and achieve re-election, and if we face four more years of his debilitating economic and national security policies, the safety and security of America in the world may be damaged irreparably,” wrote Bolton.

“In politics as in battle, conservatives should remember Carl von Clausewitz’s sage advice to be satisfied with identifying and achieving ‘the culminating point of victory,’” continued Bolton, who served as Undersecretary of State for arms control and international security during George W. Bush’s administration.  “That does not mean total victory, but rather the maximum that can be achieved in any particular engagement.  We should not stop short, but neither should we risk what we have achieved by proceeding dangerously beyond that culminating point.

“There are many more battles to be fought to rescue our economy and preserve our national defenses.  But on this present issue, we have reached the culminating point of victory.  Let’s not throw it away.”

Bolton, who’s currently a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute — a conservative think tank — said that his decision to speak out on the debt-ceiling debate shouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that he’s about to enter the race for the White House, telling the Daily Caller that he’ll make a decision by Labor Day.