Rich Ambassador, Poor Ambassador

It was said of the plays of George Bernard Shaw - or was it Oscar Wilde? - that they consisted of "the obvious portrayed as the scandalous." I had the same reaction to this new report from the Center for Responsive Politics: Two Dozen Bankrollers-Turned-Ambassadors Bundled At Least $10 Million For Barack Obama. Really, does that sort of thing even count as news anymore?

By the Center for Responsive Politics' count, Obama has now nominated 99 people to represent the United States as ambassadors. These include ambassadors to foreign countries and more obscure top diplomats representing the nation to international organizations or championing issues such as war crimes prosecution, counterterrorism and AIDS.

The two-dozen bundlers elevated by Obama to serve in these diplomatic posts raised a minimum of $10.9 million for Obama's committees, the Center for Responsive Politics has found.

Since the Obama campaign only released information about its bundlers in broad ranges, this figure could be thousands, even millions, of dollars higher. The sum includes not only the dollar amount raised for Obama's 2008 presidential campaign committee, which you may view on OpenSecrets.org here, but also the amount bundled for his presidential inauguration committee, per the records maintained by Public Citizen.

There's nothing to see here, people, so move along.

On the other hand, I thing there is something new to see in this brief observation from today's report:

Thirty-five of these ambassadors -- or about 35 percent -- are career members of the U.S. Foreign Service. Only one of these 35 people has any record of making any campaign contributions to federal candidates or committees.

Only one? What kind of impecunious diplomats do we have if only one of those career Foreign Service ambassadors has any record of political contributions? Or, if they aren't penniless, are they apathetic to domestic politics? This is embarrassing.

I'm not suggesting that aspiring ambassadors ought to start bundling funds from overseas interests, or anything like that. But, it would do them do harm to drop a hundred bucks or so now and then on their favorite candidates. Our elected officials never pass up a chance to add to their stash. And they have long memories.

Three More E$tremely Qualified Ambassadors

Open Secrets reports that the Obama administration has named three more bundlers & big donors in latest Ambassador picks:

President Barack Obama has picked three big bundlers and donors to fill diplomatic posts to Spain, Norway and the European Union.

[TSB Note: why is it always Europe, and the nicer parts of Europe, at that? Aren't there any money bundlers who prefer the more exotic lands of Africa, the Near East, or Latin America? I can't relate. Hell, I won't even do a TDY to a diplomatic post unless it has at least a High terrorism threat level.]

The three new ambassadors bundled more than $1 million combined toward Obama's election efforts. Overall, they -- along with their immediate family members -- have contributed nearly $2 million to federal candidates since 1989.

Specifically, philanthropist, nursing home industry entrepreneur and former lobbyist Alan D. Solomont is slated to become the newest U.S. ambassador to Spain. Barry B. White, a partner at the law firm Foley Hoag, will be the new ambassador to Norway. And Carlyle Group executive and former Federal Communications Commission chairman William E. Kennard is Obama's choice to be U.S. representative to the European Union, a position that carries the rank of ambassador.

Solomont and Kennard each bundled more than half a million dollars to Obama's presidential campaign. For his part, White bundled between $100,000 and $200,000. The exact amounts are unknown because the presidential campaigns provided only broad ranges when they disclosed information about their bundlers.

Solomont has been a long-time money-raising force in Democratic circles. He headed Obama's fundraising efforts in the Northeast. Additionally, he has been a prolific contributor to federal candidates and committees. Along with his wife, Susan, and children, he has donated about $1.8 million since 1989, all of which has gone to Democrats.

This ranks Solomont as the largest personal contributor among Obama's ambassador picks to date, edging out donor and ambassador to Germany Philip Murphy by more than a quarter-million dollars.

This amount includes roughly $13,500 each to Obama and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who now serves as secretary of state. It also includes about $770,000 to the Democratic National Committee, $237,000 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, $148,500 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and $26,750 to the Democratic Party of Massachusetts -- his home state.

Over the years, he has also contributed large amounts to the campaign committees and leadership PACs of his home-state senators: $41,550 to John Kerry and $28,000 to Edward Kennedy.

While less prolific than Solomont, Barry White has also donated large sums to federal candidates, parties and committees. Along with his wife, Eleanor, he has contributed about $103,000 since 1989, of which 98 percent has gone toward Democrats.

Included in this sum: $10,200 in contributions to Obama and $2,000 to Clinton. Since 1993, he has also given $12,900 to the DNC. And since 1990, he's given $16,000 to Kerry's committees.

Kennard has also donated generously to candidates and committees over the years. Along with his wife, Deborah, he has contributed about $67,400 to Democrats since 1989 -- including $6,900 to Obama during his presidential run last cycle.

White House "Unaware of Historic Norms" for Ambassadorial Appointments?

The Washington Times had a story yesterday that quoted unnamed "senior administration officials" and one named source, the acting president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), to the effect that the Obama administration was planning to exceed the normal 30/70 ratio of political appointees to professional ambassadors until AFSA interceded.

I find it very hard to believe the administration was unaware of the normal practice. Even assuming that was true of Obama and his core staff, Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton certainly can't plead ignorance. More likely, the administration had more than the usual number of fundraisers standing in line waiting for appointments. In two lines, actually, since Hillary must have had her own list of people expecting quid pro quo for supporting her losing campaign.

Reading between the lines, it seems the story here is that Obama took precedence over Hillary in putting his friends and fundraisers forward for ambassadorial appointments, bumping her people out of line, until eventually she backed AFSA's protests to hold political appointees to the usual 30%. All in the public interest, of course, but I'm sure the fact that her people weren't in line anymore helped Hillary see where the public's interest lay.

Career diplomats protest Obama appointments:

The White House, unaware of historic norms, had been on track to give more than the usual 30 percent of ambassadorial jobs to political appointees until objections from career diplomats forced it to reconsider, administration officials say.

As a result of the reversal, some donors to President Obama's election campaign - as well as senior advisers and other supporters of the campaigns of Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton - are likely to find their hopes of being rewarded with an embassy dashed.

"The White House has come around, and we truly expect that, at the end of the process, the balance will be within historical norms," said one senior administration official who asked not to be named because he was discussing internal deliberations.

Mr. Obama has been criticized in recent weeks for continuing the tradition of handing out ambassadorships to major campaign donors with no experience in foreign affairs.

The Washington Times reported Tuesday that an old college roommate, the head of an entertainment production company and a lawyer whose family made its money selling vacuum cleaners are among more than a dozen people who have been given ambassadorships after raising a total of at least $4 million for Mr. Obama's campaign, according to public records.

The decision to uphold the historic ratio of 30 percent political appointees and 70 percent career diplomats came only after members of the Foreign Service protested to White House staff and Mrs. Clinton's chief of staff, Cheryl D. Mills, officials said.

"There was some question about how sacrosanct the 30 percent was," the senior administration official said.

Although the 30-70 ratio is not official, "all administrations have adhered fairly closely to it in the last several decades," said Steven B. Kashkett, acting president of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA), the diplomats' union.The U.S. has 175 ambassadorial posts.

Senior political appointees at both the White House and the State Department apparently were not aware of past practice and were en route to exceeding 30 percent political appointees, several career diplomats said. That message was conveyed to Harry K. Thomas Jr., who until recently was director-general of the Foreign Service, they added.

Concerned that too many political supporters of Mr. Obama, Mr. Biden and Mrs. Clinton, who ran separate campaigns during last year's Democratic primaries, may be expecting to become ambassadors, career officials at the State Department alerted Ms. Mills several weeks ago. She raised the matter with Mrs. Clinton and later involved the White House, officials said.

"The thinking on this issue has evolved at the White House," the senior administration official said. "They have come to recognize its importance in light of the president's campaign promises."

He noted that those who expected jobs but will not get them now should not be too concerned, because the administration "will need talent later."

It was nice of the senior administration official to throw Hillary's people - both her fund raising people and her Foreign Service people - that bone. Don't despair, guys. Keep hoping. Your day will come. Any time now. If not in Obama's first term, then maybe in his second. Or certainly in Hillary's future administration, which will happen someday, but only you raise more and more money.

Ambassador Nominees Get Richer, if Not More Professional

The Obama administration hasn't actually appointed any ambassadors yet other than for UN Ambassador Susan Rice, so it's still possible that Obama will appoint no one but stone cold professional diplomats to fill all those vacancies created when the Bush administration's ambassadors were dismissed, just like his admirers in the foreign affairs community (such as here and here) expect he will. But the rumors so far can't be making them happy.

Last month it was a Pittsburgh sports owner going to Ireland, now it's Chicago money bundler Louis Susman, the recently retired vice chairman of Citigroup Global Markets, former campaign finance director for Kerry in 2006, and major fundraiser for Obama in 2008, to the United Kingdom's Court of St. James.

From the Telegraph today:

Barack Obama has been embroiled in a cronyism row after reports that he intends to make Louis Susman, one of his biggest fundraisers, the new US ambassador in London.

Mr Susman's reputation for hoovering large amounts of cash from deep pockets saw him nicknamed "the vacuum cleaner" when he raised more than $240 million for John Kerry's White House bid in 2004.

He was one of Mr Obama's biggest campaign cash "bundlers", fundraisers who collect contributions from hundreds of others. He also gave $300,000 to the president's inauguration fund.

At least Obama is picking a much wealthier political-appointee ambassador than the last one Bush settled for.

Robert Tuttle, the US ambassador in London since 2005, was a California car dealer who raised $100,000 for George W Bush's 2004 election campaign and another $100,000 for his inauguration.

A car dealer who kicked in only $200,000? He sounds like a piker compared to Louis Susman.

A Well-Credentialed (?) Ambassador

From the Irish Times:

DEAGLÁN DE BRÉADÚN, Political Correspondent

PROMINENT IRISH-AMERICAN businessman Dan Rooney, owner and chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers football team, is widely tipped to be the next US ambassador to Ireland, in succession to Thomas C Foley.

The appointment is expected to be announced on or near St Patrick’s Day, in line with tradition. Other names featuring in speculation are Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late president John F Kennedy, and leading trade unionist John Sweeney of the AFL-CIO.

In an interview with a local TV station in Pittsburgh this week, Mr Rooney, a co-founder of the Ireland Fund charity with Dr Tony O’Reilly, was asked if he would like to be appointed to the job. He replied: “It would be interesting.”

When it was put to him that he had all the right credentials, he answered: “I have the credentials, there’s no doubt about that.”

A well-placed Irish-American source commented last night: “If Dan wants it, Dan gets it.”

Now aged 76, Mr Rooney is hale and hearty and flies his own plane. He was an early backer of Barack Obama’s campaign for the presidency.

According to the Irish Voice newspaper, “He was so impressed by Obama’s oratory back in January that he called his son Jim and told him he was going to work for the Democratic candidate.

“At the time Obama was an outsider, looking as if he was going to get crushed by the Clinton machine. Rooney, however, saw something he really liked.

“In April he wrote a long letter to his friends and associates backing Obama, at a time when Clinton was vastly more popular in Pennsylvania.

“Then in late October, during Obama’s last trip to Pennsylvania, Rooney presented him with a Steelers jersey, a move that drew criticism from some life-long conservative Steelers fans.”

With his deeply-held traditional Catholic views and opposition to abortion, Mr Rooney is not a typical Obama supporter but he has a much-praised record of hiring African-Americans in Pittsburgh.