Secretary of State John Bolton Would Be the Anti-John Kerry

In most presidential transitions you can tell who is likely to get the job by who has declined to talk about it with the press. By this logic, John Bolton--a retired diplomat known for his mustache, love of Ford Mustangs and loathing of America's enemies--looks like the front-runner for secretary of state.

Currently Bolton is, to use the Trumpian phrase, a finalist. Republican sources tell me that Rudy Giuliani has had trouble in the vetting process because of his past business ties. Mitt Romney can't quite bring himself to give the kind of public apology the next president's most ardent supporters would demand. Senator Bob Corker is seen as too much of a squish. Ditto for former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman. And a David Petraeus nomination would make a mockery of the Trump campaign's primary attack on Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server.