Obama Gives Political Ambassadors Their Pink Slips

[BlueJessamine]

Source: The Washington Post

By Glenn Kessler

The incoming Obama administration has notified all politically-appointed ambassadors that they must vacate their posts as of Jan. 20, the day President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office, a State Department official said.

The clean slate will open up prime opportunities for the president-elect to reward political supporters with posts in London, Paris, Tokyo and the like. The notice to diplomatic posts was issued this week.

Political ambassadors sometimes are permitted to stay on briefly during a new administration, but the sweeping nature of the directive suggests that Obama has little interest in retaining any of Bush's ambassadorial appointees.

Most ambassadors, of course, are foreign service officers, but often the posts involving the most important bilateral relations (such as with Great Britain, Japan and India) or desirable locales (such as the Bahamas) are given to close friends and well-heeled contributors of the president.



Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/03/obama_gives_political_ambassad.html

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Goodbye 'loyal bushies'!

[DavidDvorkin]

1. Yay!

A very big shovel will be require for the huge pile of shit the Obama administration will find waiting for it.

[Taverner]

2. This is a tradition. All ambassardors tender their resignation at the beginning of a Pres term

And sometimes, the resignations are refused. That's what happened to the US Ambassador to Thailand when I was there.

[bdamomma]

3. clean them out, pack your bags and leave!!!

[kpete]

4. Obama Gives Political Ambassadors Their Pink Slips

Source: Washington Post

Obama Gives Political Ambassadors Their Pink Slips

By Glenn Kessler
The incoming Obama administration has notified all politically-appointed ambassadors that they must vacate their posts as of Jan. 20, the day President-elect Barack Obama takes the oath of office, a State Department official said.

The clean slate will open up prime opportunities for the president-elect to reward political supporters with posts in London, Paris, Tokyo and the like. The notice to diplomatic posts was issued this week.

Political ambassadors sometimes are permitted to stay on briefly during a new administration, but the sweeping nature of the directive suggests that Obama has little interest in retaining any of Bush's ambassadorial appointees.

Most ambassadors, of course, are foreign service officers, but often the posts involving the most important bilateral relations (such as with Great Britain, Japan and India) or desirable locales (such as the Bahamas) are given to close friends and well-heeled contributors of the president.

Read more: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/12/03/obama_gives_political_ambassad.html

[ClarkUSA]

5. Good riddance to bad rubbish.

Thanks for the nice news.

:woohoo: Obama Is 44 :party:

[marauding liberal]

8. buh-buy

[Muttocracy]

6. The Bush ambassadors seemed to have a lot of turnover

or maybe they just started fleeing in the last year. I was surprised how many appointments the SFRC had to confirm in the last year.

[Captain Hilts]

7. UK Ambassador is usually wealthy so they can afford to pay for the embassy's liquor.

Obscure law prevents the US Govt. from paying but so much for liquor. So, the amabassador to UK/Court of St. James and Paris are usually wealthy party-throwers who can afford to make up the difference on liquor.

It was unusual that Clinton had Adm. Crowe in the UK post. A guy with actual diplomatic experience.

[xxqqqzme]

9. Has the diplomatic corps, under *,

become so graceless that they no longer 'understand' their resignations are expected after a presidential election? What a bunch of clumsy, bumbling boobs we have had the last 8 years.

[Igel]

11. Perhaps.

Perhaps not.

We don't know whether there's a basis for your question or not. There's a presupposition, but it's groundless. As for the latter, I wouldn't know if they were boobs or not, not having disrobed them.

Note that the article crucially omits whether or not they tendered resignations. My understanding is that right now Obama is transitioning, under federal but not Constitutional law, so he's not officially in a position to hire or fire anybody in any way other than tentative. Most ambassadors tender their resignation on inauguration day, once they have a new boss to accept it.

In this case, the new boss, before being confirmed by the board and before actually starting the job, is already issuing orders that the Post presumes have teeth. Perhaps its his Constitutional "office" of being the unofficial president-elect that gives him the authority? After all, he's the expert on the Constitution, as one person put it, with a "doctorate" in law (like nearly every other lawyer in the US).

But that would be arrogant, usurping powers that he's nowhere granted. I prefer to assume that the Post got it slightly wrong in their enthusiasm, that he's simply giving notice of an official order that will come down the pipes upon his inauguration, and that he intends to have replacements ready when he finally has authority. Then all the legal niceties are observed, and the ambassadors in question are given fair warning to vacate their digs and explore other employment options. I'm probably wrong, to be honest. I still give people the benefit of the doubt.

[classysassy]

10. I am available

hint,"I love Paris in the springtime,winter,summer of fall",my bags are packed.

[MadMaddie]

12. This is great news!

[DeepModem Mom]

13. K&R