Just weeks ago, we wrote that the Senate would once again consider confirming John Bolton as our Ambassador to the United Nations.

Hope had been renewed when Senator George Voinovich reverse his position and announced that he would support Bolton's confirmation.

The partisan minority, we predicted, would put up a stiff fight, so we urged the Senate to act quickly, before the momentum vanished.

On Friday, that fight is exactly what happened.

But it wasn't the partisan minority that succeeded in stopping Bolton's confirmation. It was a lone Republican Senator from Rhode Island, Sen. Lincoln Chafee.

Bolton is currently serving as U.N. Ambassador under a temporary "recess" appointment made by President Bush last year. If the Senate doesn't confirm Bolton before it adjourns, that appointment will expire at the end of this year.

And our nation will be worse off.

Bolton is an outstanding representative at the world body. He a strong advocate for U.S. interests, and he understands the organization's flaws, perhaps better than anyone. He's not interested in currying favor with the Secretary General or making a favorable impression at the latest cocktail party. He wants to make the U.N. more effective, and he knows how to do it.

He's also proven to be a deft diplomat who can successfully navigate the U.N.'s labyrinthine and mystifying idiosyncrasies.

But Senator Chafee, despite having voted in favor of Bolton's confirmation in a committee vote last year, has now changed his mind.

In a letter to the State Department, Chafee explained that he was going to sacrifice Bolton's confirmation – effectively fire him – because he doesn't agree with portions of the administration's Middle East policies.

Of course, Chafee didn't mention in the letter that he was facing a tough reelection contest. This week, Chafee prevailed in a close primary race and now faces a very difficult battle against a well-funded Democrat.

The bottom line isn't surprising: Chafee's new-found opposition isn't based on anything more that his political needs of the moment. Unfortunately, by putting his own political problems first, he's doing his nation a serious disservice. At a time it needs its best and brightest on the job, defending its interests in places like the U.N., Chafee would send one packing.

Chafee probably thinks he's catering to the voters back home. But this is a lose-lose for the Senator. And by taking both sides, he'll only ensure that everyone is angry.

We've offered a backbone transplant for the Senator before. Now more than ever, it's time he took us up on it and remove his hold on Ambassador Bolton's nomination.