When meetings end he is followed by a crowd of cameramen keen to capture that famous walrus moustache and his colourful asides. Rival ambassadors salute his skill as a communicator and his diligence. He keeps Washington rather than New York hours, starting work before dawn and often going to bed by nine.
While he speaks off the cuff, he assiduously takes notes of others' speeches, the opposite of the usual UN style. But it is exasperation as much as envy that defines reactions to him in the UN. His undiplomatic ways have infuriated even America's allies and UN officials pushing for reform. Eight months after President George W Bush made his highly contentious appointment, no one could suggest he has "gone native".
A long-term conservative hawk, in he said the UN could easily do without the top 10 of its 39 floors.
He also said there was no such thing as the UN, just an international community that can be led by the US. His language is a little more circumspect now but only a little. Has his opinion changed? It is like a twilight zone. Things that happen here don't reflect the reality in the rest of the world.
It's like a time warp. I think that's not useful for the organisation. UN officials mutter that far from helping to push through much-needed reforms to ensure embarrassments such as the oil-for-food scandal are never repeated, his methods have impeded the chances of agreement.
