Obama fires ALL Bush-appointed ambassadors!

[backscatter712]

Definitely a good sign if you ask me!

http://crooksandliars.com/cernig/cleaning-stables-state

Following up on reports of Obama's intended Herculean cleaning of the Agean Stables at the Department of Defense, where the entire body of Bush-appointed deputies and under-whatevers are expected to be fired, the Washington Post now reports that the incoming Obama administration has told every single Bush political appointee as an ambassador that their services will no longer be required come January 20th.

That's an awful lot of ambassadors. An unusually high percentage of Bush's ambassador picks throughout his presidency - about half - have been "political appointees," as opposed to career foreign officers and without fail those political appointees have been big campaign donors, each raising over $100,000 for Bush and lots more for the Republican Party.

Nations that have had these, usually clueless, ambassadors foisted upon them just so that Bush could thank his biggest funders with a prestige sinecure include: Canada, Mexico, Britain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain, Australia, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Saudi Arabia, France, Portugal, Switzerland, Singapore and the European Union as well as a host of smaller nations. The United States is the only nation which habitually staffs its top diplomatic positions in other countries with check-writing rank amateurs rather than professional diplomats.

Oh, and an entertaining quote from yarnosh on reddit.com about this story: "I didn't know Bush appointed ambassadors. I though he just sent a little box on which you turn a crank and a middle finger pops up."

[ColbertWatcher]

1. Don't all presidents do this?

Like they do with all the attorneys?

Is this news?

[backscatter712]

6. Yeah, most presidents do sweep out the political appointees from the previous admin.

IIRC, one of Bill Clinton's early mistakes was to keep one or two of Bush Sr.'s US Attorneys instead of firing and replacing them - those attorneys turned around and started investigating Clinton, and thus we had the whole Whitewater/Monicagate morass.

Best to just fire them all. If you really feel bad about it, give them a good severance package.

[ColbertWatcher]

11. But, the attorneys are not political appointees, are they? n/t

[backscatter712]

12. I thought they were.

I was under the impression that the reason why Iglesias and co. were canned was because they refused to break the law for Bush, and thus firing them in retaliation for doing their jobs was illegal.

Still, they are political appointees, and it is perfectly legal for an incoming President to can every single US Attorney from the previous administration and replace them with his own appointees.

[ColbertWatcher]

13. I thought his firing was a bad thing because he wasn't a political appointee. n/t

[nichomachus]

14. It's a lot like firing an employee

People in business have a right to fire employees -- for "any reason." However, if you fire someone for refusing to have sex with you, you are in deep doo-doo.

What Bush did was the equivalent of that. He was firing his own US Attorneys because they refused to be political hacks.

[LiberalFighter]

20. US Attorneys are political appointees.

[DS1]

2. LOL at that quote

[MineralMan]

3. Now that right there is

funny, no matter who you are.

[MineralMan]

7. Can we get a smiley

of that little box? The crank would turn, then the dirty digit would emerge. I wish I had the skills to make one.

[SpiralHawk]

4. Free clue for you mortals: "It's the Augean Stables." - Hercules

The stables were the 5th Labor of Hercules - and they reeked with a pustulous, scaborous, vomitous stink -- just like the current republicon-homelander 'government' -- both overt and occult.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Security!

/

[FSogol]

5. We are the only country to "staff...with check-writing rank amateurs rather than professional

diplomats" and it shows. Good riddance. Let the professionals handle the work.

[ProfessorGAC]

17. I Don't Think We're The Only Country

I think England has a long standing reputation for that, too. And, i think the Japanese gov't does it too. (Apologies to my many Japanese and British friends.)

Not that i like it. I just don't think the U.S. is that unique in that regard.
The Professor

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. LOL @ the box quote, hooray for the rest

[Ian David]

10. He should have just re-assigned them all to Baghdad. n/t

[JFKfanforever]

15. The AUGEAN stables...

Not Agean. Augean, please.

[cascadiance]

16. Is that "will" fire all of them?...

It would be pretty cool if he could fire them before he takes office. I can think of many other folk I'd like to see get fired now too! :)

[backscatter712]

19. Pretty much.

According to the article, Obama's transition team sent messages to all the Bush-appointed ambassadors saying "After Jan. 20th, your services are no longer required."

[jmowreader]

18. Routine.

Ambassadors serve at the pleasure of the President, and Obama will merely appoint a couple hundred people who please him.

I just wish Obama would choose Foreign Service professionals instead of campaign donors, like all other presidents have.

[tavalon]

21. If you wish to believe it so, but it's SOP for new administrations

[DFW]

22. While it's customary to have political appointees as ambassadors

The appointments for unqualified political hacks or contributors are usually reserved
for such countries as the Bahamas or Bhutan. When Bill Clinton appointed Phil Lader as
ambassador to great Britain, he was appointing not only a friend but someone with great
international experience and legal knowledge, and a first-rate intellect as well. Bush's
appointment to the Court of St. James had the qualification that he knew about horses, as
does the Queen. Not the same thing. The overhaul is necessary.

[Laelth]

23. That is good news. k&r n/t

:dem:

-Laelth