Earlier this week, Senator Hagel, you revealed that you had a "direct and honest conversation" with John Bolton. Today, Bolton traveled to your home state of Nebraska and gave an hour-long speech. In case you missed it, the boiled down version is: "go to hell."

Here's what you said at the Brookings Institution a few months ago:

"I think, just as you have noticed, if I actually believe what I have said, and I do, then there appears to be at least in your mind some disconnect in how I could support Mr. Bolton. And I think that's a fair question.

"And I think the United Nations is a very important institution. I think it's as important today as maybe it's ever been. And I think America needs to have a standing there, needs to have relationships there, and needs to be seen not just as the biggest donor nation, but we need to do more than that."

If I were in your shoes, Senator Hagel, I would vote no on Bolton irrespective of a phone conversation. That being said, if I did want to base my vote on an honest conversation, I might tell Bolton what you told the Brookings Institution and see if he could satisfy my concerns. Until today, I figured that's what happened.

Then, I heard Bolton's remarks in Lincoln today. He didn't once discuss the importance of the United Nations or its key place in U.S. foreign policy. He didn't cite a single success story, despite S-G Annan's recent diplomatic trip, the cease-fire resolution in the Middle East, recent progress on Darfur, or any of its invaluable ongoing humanitarian, environment, democracy-promotion, or development work. It's not hard. Just today, the General Assembly adopted Annan's U.S.-backed counterterrorism strategy. That's important and timely, but apparently didn't warrant a one-sentence mention in Bolton's speech.

Instead, before moving on to hot-tempered rhetoric on Iran and North Korea, his remarks on the U.N. focused on sex, fraud, and corruption - nothing new, and nothing particularly useful for someone who's trying to work with other countries.

Today, though, he ratcheted up the rhetoric. First, he said: "the entire [U.S.] contribution [to the U.N.] was subject to waste, fraud, and abuse," not so subtly hinting that we should withhold dues. Then, he targeted U.N. peacekeeping:

“Report after report has found that the peacekeepers themselves have engaged in persistent sexual abuse…sometimes known as sex-for-food...Peacekeepers are sent out by definition, by definition, to defend some of the world’s most vulnerable populations…and yet here these vulnerable populations are being exploited by the people sent to protect them. That’s why when you look at…you can see [why there is] a crisis of confidence in the institution.”

Senator Hagel, it hasn't been three days since your conversation with Bolton and he's already going totally off the reservation. First, while sexual abuse in U.N. peacekeeping is a serious problem, "report after report" and "persistent" are exaggerations. Second, highlighting these abuses and completely ignoring the legitimacy, efficiency, and cost-effectiveness that U.N. peacekeeping has been praised for by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and the RAND Corporation is a serious distortion of U.S. views on U.N. peacekeeping. Finally, Bolton is asserting that there is a crisis of confidence in the U.N. I'm betting he didn't say that in your phone conversation, Senator Hagel.

Talk with Senator Sarbanes. He understands the danger of being a constant scold while trying to induce reform. Keeping Bolton at the U.N. will further derail our alliances, our relationship with the U.N., and the critical effort to make the institution stronger and more effective.

Senator Hagel, Bolton isn't just ignoring you, he's doing it in your state and taking this message to your constituents. I hope you are as disappointed as...no, far more disappointed than I am.