John R. Bolton, currently Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, has been nominated by Bush for the post of U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. In the first day of his nomination hearings before the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Bolton made no bones about his belief that the U.N. and its members need to shape up.

Those opposed to his appointment charge that his selective use of intelligence to support hard-lined positions and his strong rhetoric against the U.N. in the past make him an unproductive pick. In 1994, Bolton said “it wouldn’t make a bit of difference” if the U.N. headquarters building lost 10 stories.

It seems clear that, if appointed, Bolton will shake things up at the U.N. The question is whether he’ll be a reformer or a wrecking ball.

Hear excerpts from the day’s hearings and analysis from Joseph Nye, Dean of the Kennedy School of Government and the Wall Street Journal’s John Fund.

Guests:

Charles Babington, Congressional reporter, Washington Post

Joeseph Nye, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, former Deputy to the Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance and Dean of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Governement

John Fund, writer and columnist for OpinionJournal.com, currently on leave from the Wall Street Journal editorial board.