Ambassadors: Obama’s political hacks
In his second term, President Obama has filled 53 percent of U.S. ambassadorships with political appointees.
The nominee for U.S. ambassador to Norway admits he’s never been there, and outrages Norwegians by referring to its prime minister as “president” and its ruling center-right coalition as an extremist “fringe.” The nominee for U.S. ambassador to Argentina can’t speak Spanish. The nominee for ambassador to Hungary? A soap opera producer who hemmed and hawed through a Senate committee’s questions about the country. What all those nominees had in common, said Juliet Eilperin in The Washington Post, was that they were major donors or bundlers to President Obama’s 2012 campaign. In his second term, Obama has taken diplomatic cynicism to new heights, with political appointees getting 53 percent of his ambassadorships—compared with the average of about 30 percent during recent presidencies. Filling U.S. embassies with unqualified political hacks “is a grave insult to competent foreign service officers,” said Jennifer Rubin in WashingtonPost.com, suggesting that what the State Department does “is irrelevant.”
The real problem is the system itself, said Kori Schake in ForeignPolicy.com. The State Department has done little to determine what makes a good ambassador or to provide serious professional training. Perhaps that’s why “many political appointees prove better diplomats than our diplomats.” Obama has made some “genuinely fantastic political appointments,” including sending Russian scholar and democracy activist Mike McFaul to Moscow. It’s also wrong to assume that ambassadors must be experts in their assigned countries the day they arrive; the kind of negotiating, cajoling, and strong views that make someone a successful businessperson and party activist in the U.S. can come in very handy abroad.
Tell that to the Norwegians, said Jacob Heilbrunn in The National Interest. When you dispatch to Oslo some wealthy joker who knows nothing about Norway, “it signals to the host country that the U.S. doesn’t take it very seriously.” In fact, it underscores the blithe indifference with which the U.S. views the rest of the world. We’re the only industrialized country that sends political appointees as ambassadors, said James Bruno in Politico.com. Consider the case of Colleen Bell, the soap opera producer whom Obama is dispatching to Hungary, where anti-Semitism is on the rise and the wily prime minister is cracking down on dissent. Is she really up for that job? “Tough to say.” But my wild guess would be no.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
'Is the death penalty racist? Of course it is.'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - May 8, 2024
Cartoons Wednesday's cartoons - social media guilt, gag orders, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Boy Scouts changes name to Scouting America
Speed Read The organization is rebranding, citing inclusivity
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published