When one considers President Obama’s diplomatic legacy, several developments come to mind: his alienation of Israel, his championing of the Iran nuclear deal, and his State Department’s failure to tame the Russian bear.
One part of Obama’s legacy that has gotten scant attention is his habit of nominating big donors to top diplomatic posts.
According to a new Center for Public Integrity analysis, Obama gave 31 campaign “bundlers” — people who raised at least $50,000 to fund his presidential campaigns — plum posts as ambassadors.
I’m not talking about small countries such as San Marino or Saint Kitts and Nevis. Some of the countries, such as Canada and New Zealand, are very important diplomatically.
Those 31 people collectively raised more than $20 million for Obama’s two presidential runs. In addition to those 31, Obama tapped 39 people to ambassadorships who gave money to his campaigns or are political allies.
Most of them have been deployed to friendly and wealthy countries in Western Europe. But included among them are China and India, countries where the stakes are high, diplomatic skills are essential, and a deep knowledge of the people and politics is invaluable.
This sort of diplomatic quid pro quo is nothing new. What is new is just how extensive it’s gotten under Obama.
Obama’s appointees include Colleen Bell and Noah Mamet, who each raised half a million dollars for Obama. Bell, a former producer of “The Bold and the Beautiful” soap opera, is ambassador to Hungary, a country in the middle of the European debate over immigration and Syrian refugees. Bell proved during her confirmation hearing that she knew next to nothing about the country to which she had been nominated to represent the president.
Then there’s Noah Mamet, Obama’s ambassador to Argentina. Mamet had never touched foot in the country before arriving in early 2015 as America’s chief diplomat there. He wasn’t even fluent in Spanish.
What’s Mamet been up to since he finally touched down in Buenos Aires? He’s overseen the inauguration of a system of 72 solar panels in the embassy, the first such installation at a United States Embassy worldwide. Impressive, but perhaps not what a country hobbled by an economic recession and political turmoil needs.
Daniel Allott is deputy commentary editor for the Washington Examiner
