To Be Continued...

So tonight's vote was not the final showdown on John Bolton. The cloture vote fell short. Debate on the nomination will continue. We will see if Bush continues to stonewall the U.S. Senate.
After the vote, Majority Leader Bill Frist pretended that this was a step back from the bipartisanship of the filibuster deal--a deal Frist hated by the way. He acted as though he hadn't heard Harry Reid and Joe Biden moments earlier offer kind words to Frist for his efforts to broker an understanding that would allow the U.S. Senate to know what Bolton evidently shared with his staff. And he acted as though he hadn't heard Biden say the Senate could vote immediately after reconvening if the administration would be more cooperative:

We're ready to vote the day we get back, the moment we get back..if the administration is more forthcoming in meeting us halfway.

There's more to come. In the meanwhile, for all things Bolton stay tuned to Steve Clemons at The Washington Note.