There are times when a White House nomination gets blocked or otherwise derailed for all the wrong reasons—silly controversy, meaningless personal foibles, partisan bickering. What’s happening to the Bolton nomination isn’t one of those times. As the Senate expands its investigation of him, Bolton is twisting in the wind for all the right reasons. By temperament, he’s not the right man for a diplomatic job; and as a longtime foe of the United Nations—not just critic, but foe—his nomination is an insult to that body. Moreover, he’s driven by ideology rather than by judgment, and don’t we have enough of that in this country as it is?

Bolton’s nomination is toast. And if you’re sensing that I’m happy about that, you’re absolutely right.

It all makes me think that humility—as opposed to the arrogance of the people trying to thrust this noxious character down our throats—is really an underrated public virtue.