Exchanging ambassadorial appointments for political favors is nothing new. As ABC News points out, most Presidents reward their allies, donors, and fundraisers with cushy gigs in foreign countries. Usually, you can expect a good chunk of the spots to go to people who helped elect the current administration and, as long as we're not talking about positions in global hotspots, it's simply not that big of a deal.
For example, no one would really care if the ambassador to Barbados got the job because they're a friend of the man in the oval office. It may not be right, but that's the way it is.
According to Jay Carney, President Obama's nominees come from "all walks of life" but - when over 50% of the ambassadorial appointments go to bundlers who corralled over $500,000.00 in campaign donations - people start asking questions. Usually, those questions can be deflected with something along the lines of "hey, they're qualified, so let it go." Unfortunately, that's not the case here.
When questioned, the appointees in the ABC report revealed that they had never visited the countries to which they were about to be appointed. Worse; they had little or no knowledge of the nations in question.
The cringe-worthy ABC News piece appears below and we think you'll find it amusing. Even Jon Stewart gets in on the act....
