A US Senate committee has advanced George W Bush's nomination for the post of US ambassador to the United Nations to the full Senate, but without a key endorsement.
While the committee advanced John Bolton's nomination, Republican Sen. George Voinovich's stinging criticisms of Bush's controversial choice for UN ambassador gave Democrats more ammunition to fight his confirmation in the full Senate.
Bolton 's prospects were good in the Senate, which Republicans control 55-45. But Voinovich's defection was an embarrassment for Bush who has worked aggressively for Bolton, a favorite of conservatives.
The committee voted 10-8, along party lines, to advance the nomination. Democrats argued that the committee should reject B olton and force Bush to find a better candidate.
The White House said it was confident the Senate would back Bolton, who Bush has touted as the best choice to push for reforms at the world body.
"We respect Sen. Voinovich's decision, but there are many people who agree with the president that John Bolton is the right person at the right time for this important position," spokesman Scott McClellan said.
Senator Voinovich, who had not tipped his hand earlier on how he would vote, blasted Bolton as "the poster child of what someone in the diplomatic corps should not be."
"The United States can do better than John Bolton ," the Ohio senator said. He said the blunt-spoken Bolton could worsen the United States' already poor image around the world.
But Voinovich said, "I am not so arrogant to think that I should impose my judgment and perspective ... on the rest of my colleagues. We owe it to the president to give Mr. Bolton an up or down vote on the floor of the United States Senate."
His stance was key, as a 9-9 committee tie could have blocked the nomination from a full Senate vote.
Voinovich later told reporters he thought Bolton 's confirmation was in some doubt when it reaches the full Senate.
"No one is really excited about him," he said.
Democrats contend that in his role as top US diplomat for arms control, Bolton has tried to coerce intelligence analysts to conform to his hard-line views, bullied subordinates and had a chilling effect on the intelligence community.
Richard Lugar of Indiana, the committee's Republican chairman, said no information that should disqualify Bolton for the UN post emerged in a review of stacks of documents and interviews with 31 witnesses in the last three weeks.