***update: Ambassador Bolton’s statement to the committee…hearing disrupted***

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee showdown over US ambassador to the United Nations Joltin’ John Bolton begins at 9:30am Eastern.

Pro-Bolton-ians lining up: David Limbaugh, Amity Shlaes, Nile Gardiner and Brett D. Schaefer, and the Washington Times weigh in.

Dithering diplomats twitch and moan about Bolton here.

Dem Sens. Chuck Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton are “feeling the heal” from pro-Israel groups, reports the NY Sun.

My video endorsement, with a few choice Bolton clips and a Gentle George Voinovich flasback, is up. Bring your Kleenex. Partial transcript:

After condemning Bolton as “arrogant” and “bullying,” Voinovich has now endorsed him. Delicate George pronounced himself satisfied with the ambassador’s “interpersonal skills.”

Indeed, Bolton has racked up plenty of negotiating achievements. Successfully lobbying both China and Russia to back Security Council Resolution 1695, condemning North Korea’s recent launch of ballistic missiles. Working on brokering a similar resolution on Iran.

Working with the UN Security Council on a new partnership with Interpol to strengthen sanctions against al-Qaida. Working with the panel on adopting sanctions against individuals contributing to the genocide in Darfur. Leading management reform efforts adopted by the General Assembly. And on and on.

But it’s not Bolton’s “interpersonal skills” that make him the man for the job. It’s his commitment to putting US interests first and always. And his willingness to ditch UN bureaucratese for blunt talk…Bolton’s lifelong refusal to be a sycophant, apologist, and whitewasher makes him the necessary antidote to the global king of moral equivalence, Kofi Annan. With Iran on the nuclear brink, jihadists ascending, Israel under siege, and the U.N. oil-for-food debacle still unfolding, Bolton is exactly the right man in the right place at the right time to continue representing America’s national interests at Turtle Bay.

C-SPAN is airing the hearing live.