Obama Administration: Ambassadorships To The Highest Bidders
Any of you who painted Obama to be a different sort of politician feel in need of about 10 showers about now?
Jonathan Turley blogs:
American diplomats are condemning what they view as President Barack Obama's selling ambassadorships to high donors. This has long been a problem and Obama supporters are likely to return to the refrain that he is just doing what his predecessors did. That is never a very satisfying answer. This is a form of corruption as presidents give high diplomatic posts to people who give them loads of money. Obama has apparently expanded on this sordid practice to a level that is alarming diplomats. The fact is that all ambassadorships should be confined to people selected for their diplomatic skills, preferably from the ranks of our career diplomats or academia.For years, I have been in conversations with people close to the White House and President Obama who openly discuss the amount of money required to secure an ambassadorship. Just last week a ranking democratic operative told me that a friend had put together round $2 million in donations because he was told that "the price had gone up."
Because we have a tendency to try to confirm what we already believe, to tell ourselves the team we're on is the right one, designating yourself a political independent would probably make you more likely to see politicians for who they are: mostly self-interested sleazebags who would sell you and their grandma in a package deal if they thought it would get them a handful of votes.
A paid-for ambassadorship? Couldn't be any worse than Alan Keyes.
That said, it seems appropriate to want to reward those who donate to your cause. That said, given them an ambassadorship is not the way to do it. Unless, of course, they actually demonstrate an understanding the relationships between the U.S. and the nation in question, the history of that nation, a knowledge of their allegiances and enemies, and their other international relationships, their current leaders and their various roles in government, etc.
But otherwise, invite them to a state dinner. But ambassadorships are far too important to sell to the highest bidder.
Patrick at July 12, 2013 4:25 AM
They'll sell the whole country for votes and cheap labor. This is a minor symptom of the pervasive corruption that is Washington, DC.
MarkD at July 12, 2013 5:29 AM
Hopefully he is doing it with small, benign countries.
Jim P. at July 12, 2013 6:07 AM
But Bush™
Matt at July 12, 2013 7:03 AM
The fact is that all ambassadorships should be confined to people selected for their diplomatic skills, preferably from the ranks of our career diplomats or academia.
I would probably trust career diplomats more than those in academia. Yes, yes, faint praise and all of that.
But anyone who can bundle that much cash has, how shall we say? a diplomatic touch. And as long as they play well with their State Department minions, and don't mis-speak too much, I don't necessarily have a problem with them getting the post to Aruba. Or Belize.
Now that goober evading his DSS security detail so he can solicit underage hookers? he needs reassignment.
Not sure what the problem with Alan Keyes is per se, but he came up in the State Department, and thus would be one of those career diplomats or academia. Because he came out of academia to join State.
I R A Darth Aggie at July 12, 2013 7:52 AM
People pay to be ambassadors? Yet another way for God to tell you you have too much money.
I wonder how much the late ambassador to Libya spent for his post. . .
Rex Little at July 12, 2013 9:11 AM
"But ambassadorships are far too important to sell to the highest bidder."
Really? They're unimportant enough to abandon.
Radwaste at July 12, 2013 5:50 PM
Now that goober evading his DSS security detail so he can solicit underage hookers? he needs reassignment.
For what exactly?
1 evading his detail
2 fucking a hooker which is legal in that country but that fucking a hooker is illegal in this country
3 the fact that though 16 is legal in Belgium it is 'underage' in the USA
I can see 1, but I dont know whether or not ambassadors are expected to maintain fealty to US laws when they are harsher that the laws of the host counrty, barring that I dont see firing him over 2 or 3
lujlp at July 13, 2013 12:30 PM
Really, luj?
You want the senior representative of this country chasing women in the host country?
Radwaste at July 14, 2013 8:02 AM
I dont really give a fuck what they do so long as it doenst break the law, and in Belgium 16 and hookers and 16yr old hookers are all legal.
lujlp at July 14, 2013 12:18 PM
Gee. I should think you'd want them to DO THEIR JOB, and not smear the name of every American in the process.
Radwaste at July 17, 2013 9:11 PM
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