Friday February 17, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

U.S. practice of rewarding political supporters with ambassadorships persists

Commentary May. 29, 2009 - 06:00AM JST ( 10 )

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10 Comments

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VORMay. 29, 2009 - 09:31AM JST

Obama is no different then any other politician. Maybe not for those caught up in the Obama fog, but for all others not stupid enough to believe or expect the government to solve their problems for them.

What we have is a new guy in the oval office who speaks well enough and shows a lot of energy but when you boil it down he doesn't live up to his own rhetoric. Paying off contributors with ambassador positions is business as usual. Who pays, thats right, the taxpayer. The fleecing of America continues.
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zurcroniumMay. 29, 2009 - 09:56AM JST

wishful thinking. Only a dolt would not be able to see the difference of the last few months and the previous 8 years. Obama has not started a useless war and the has improved the economy, not taken to the bring of a depression. He is doing the right things for the American people, not just Exxon and the coal industry.

The previous Japan ambassador rana baseball team, badly. Same one that Bush screwed up by trading away Sosa. The guy Obama appointed works for the most famous legal firm in Silicon Valley. Both guys raised money for their party, so what. That is how politics works.

Always amazed how conservatives can live in their own fairyland.
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timorborderMay. 29, 2009 - 12:34PM JST

Roll out the pork barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun.

Reading this doesn't say much for the level of importance that the US places on foreign relations. Off-the-record, it would be interesting to know what some of the host countries felt regarding the new US ambassadors that Washington is about to send them. Foreign affairs backwaters such as Australia, etc., have always been postings for US ambassadors with "unusual" backgrounds. I seem to remember at least one used-car salesman being sent as Washington's envoy to Canberra, and Australia was also forced to endure Mr. Scheiffer before he became US ambassador to Japan. What about the more important postings, however, can these candidates actually find where they are being sent to on a map?

On the other hand, I think that choices such as Jon Huntsman to China are good. In addition to being a former ambassador to Singapore, he also has a language background as a result of being a Mormon missionary to Taiwan. Let's just hope he is able to use these language skills to best effect in Beijing without letting Taiwanese views of China influence his choice of words.
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stirfryMay. 29, 2009 - 01:50PM JST

same as every other country...but i guess to get people to click on it you gotta put U.S. in the headline
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SushiSake3May. 29, 2009 - 04:03PM JST

Republicans only have to see Obama's name and all the hatred and anger comes spewing out.

Predictable down to a 't.' :-)
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WeaselMay. 29, 2009 - 10:21PM JST

This is somehow news? It's only been going on for the last 232 years.
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shanabelleMay. 30, 2009 - 10:27PM JST

Ｈｅｙ　ｇｕｙｓ，　ｔｈａｔ’ｓ　ｐｏｌｉｔｉｃｓ！
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NeoJamalMay. 31, 2009 - 06:09PM JST

Envoy roles = Life Peerages?
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clclonghornJun. 13, 2009 - 12:18PM JST

I just read your article regarding President Obama’s appointment of fund raisers with limited diplomatic experience to various ambassador posts, and I wanted to alert you to the fact that even Ambassador Ronald Neumann, the diplomatic expert you quoted in your article and obviously one of our nation’s most respected diplomats, agrees with the President on at least one appointment.

Ambassador Neumann recently commended the White House Personnel Office on nominating Mr. Chet Edward “Ed” Cunningham (served on Obama’s National Finance Committee, contributed $85,500to the Obama Victory Fund and gave $15,000 to transition/inaugural efforts) for the position of U.S. Ambassador to the Asian Development, and wrote a letter to Rahm Emanuel praising the qualifications of Mr. Cunningham.

Though Ambassador Neumann has been critical of some appointments, he is also willing to give the President and the White House Personnel Office credit when they meet the high standards he has set for the nation’s diplomatic efforts, and as soon as your schedule permits, I hope that you will provide your readers with the other side of this issue.