Obama and Darfur (and John Bolton)

Sen Obama hired Samantha Powers as his aide on Senate Foreign Affairs to focus attention on genocide; especially in Darfur.

PJ Media (it's great) today links bloggers talking about China and Russia's blocking of sanctions yesterday.

The two powers, joined by Qatar, used their position on a UN sanctions committee to block the imposition of a UN travel ban and asset freeze on four unnamed Sudanese, including one government official, proposed by Britain.

The United States, which backed the British initiative, reacted angrily by threatening to call a public vote of the 15-nation Security Council that would force Russia and China into making a formal veto.

"This will be a test for the council to see if the sanctions procedure is going to work at all," John Bolton, the US Ambassador, said.

I badly want to see Obama do well. We've had so many embarrassments from Illinois. We need politician we can take some pride in.

So I hope Senator Obama takes a break from cashing in with books and gets back together with Sen. Brownback, and with Power's help puts the committee out front on Darfur. Publicity alone has impact. A few phone calls saved lives in Rwanda according to Paul Rusesabagina.

It would be nice to see a statement from him about China and Russia. (Maybe a word of support for Amassador Bolton?) I'll try and call Obama's office later today for comment.

Now... I'm sure glad John Bolton is in the UN to bluntly state the truth.

Update: Obama's office said he had no statement on Russia and China's action yesterday to block sanctions on Sudan.