Bush Appoints Bolton as U.N. Envoy, Bypassing Senate - New York Times President Bush invoked the seldom-used recess appointment because he wasn't able to get the Senate to confirm his nominee to the United Nations. Several Senators were requesting files on Bolton's service, but the White House refused to release them. From the article:

The appointment brought to a close a five-month standoff between the White House and Senate Democrats, who had held up Mr. Bolton's confirmation over accusations that the former undersecretary of state for arms control had manipulated intelligence to conform to his hawkish ideology and had bullied subordinates.

Democrats were also angry about the refusal of the White House to turn over documents related to Mr. Bolton's service at the State Department as well as his caustic comments about the United Nations in recent years. At one point, Mr. Bolton said that several floors of its headquarters could be lopped off without being missed.

This is really too bad. Bolton is not the right person for this job. His behavior in the past has been anything but diplomatic. The fact that Bush couldn't get his nominee properly confirmed is just one more indication that his second term is not going so well.