Bush's Foreign Exchange
When George W. Bush took office, 1,700 of his campaign contributors reportedly lined up for nominations as ambassadors. Bush has since awarded diplomatic posts to 24 Pioneers and Rangers-- supporters who have helped his 2000 and 2004 campaigns by bundling contributions of at least $100,000 or $200,000, respectively. (Five of them, like Bush, happen to have been baseball team owners. See "Bush’s Baseball Ambassadors", July/August 2004)
A 1980 federal law requires that campaign contributions "should not be a factor" in naming ambassadors. It also specifies that nominees should be able to speak the local language. By this standard, the credentials of Bush’s donors-turned-diplomats are particularly sparse. For instance, consider that our man in France -- a country we’ve had our share of diplomatic tussles with lately -- doesn’t speak French. Now, more of George W. Bush’s world-class ambassadors. -- Benjamin Leslie
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Mauritius. 2002 - present.
$573,555
Skipped Mauritius' presidential inauguration, prompting the country's largest paper to call for his resignation. Also recently fined $8.1 million by Utah Supreme Court for cheating his business partners.
Ireland. 2001 - 2002.
$489,600
Made a soft money contribution of $250,000 to the GOP in the summer of 2000, and was soon on his way to Dublin.
$376,859
The billionaire former CEO of Lynch Capital didn't speak any French when he was posted to Paris. He reportedly has been taking lessons, though.
Netherlands. 2001 - present.
$295,700
Dutch-deficient Ambassador Sobel says he loves the Netherlands because "everybody speaks English."
Portugal. 2001 - present.
$185,650
Big supporter of Bush 41. Speaks no Portuguese.
Norway. 2001 - present.
$181,085
Fined $15,000 by the Federal Election Commission for illegal fundraising in 1997 and 1999. Doesn't speak Norwegian.
Jamaica. 2001 - present.
$164,750
Married to Charles Cobb, who was appointed ambassador to Iceland after donating over $100,000 to George Bush Sr.
Austria. 2001 - present.
$133,700
The former CEO of Brown-Forman, the maker of Jack Daniels and Southern Comfort, does speak German. Prost!
Hungary. 2001 - 2003.
$125,990
Prior to posting, this Dallas socialite had no Eastern European experience.
Slovak Republic. 2001 - present.
$40,250
Was the 2000 Bush campaign's Michigan finance chair. Doesn't speak Slovakian.
Uruguay. 2001 - present.
$38,325
Buddies with homeland security chief Tom Ridge. Self-described as "professionally competent" in Spanish.
Malta. 2001 - present.
$37,411
AKA "The Pasta Magnate." Fortunately, Malta is English-speaking.
Belize. 2001 - present.
$3,750
This North Dakota lawyer's brother was a major investor in Bush's business dealings. Speaks Belize's official language -- English.
Saudi Arabia. 2001 - 2003.
$2,650
Represented Bush during SEC inquiries into possible insider trading in 1990. Also a law partner of Bush family consigliere and House of Saud pal James Baker.
Comments
Correction
Submitted by Louise McCready (not verified) on Fri Feb. 27, 2009 5:25 PM PST.
Craig Roberts Stapleton took the Foreign Service Language Exam after his posting in Prague, and before his posting in Paris. He scored a 3:3 in French, considered a "soft" language, and a 2:2 in Czech, a "hard" language. That score indicates that Craig Stapleton is as qualified as any US Foreign Service officer stationed overseas. Stapleton started taking French in high school, and continued lessons while in Paris to practice his pronunciation.
Response to Correction
Submitted by Benjamin Leslie (not verified) on Wed Jun. 17, 2009 3:08 PM PDT.
Thank you for this clarification. Craig Stapleton's language skills are commendable, at least relative to most of George W. Bush's patronage appointments. However, this article and its companion piece do not refer to Stapleton's language skills. "Bush's Baseball Ambassadors" correctly describes Stapleton as a former co-owner of the Texas Rangers who is married to George W. Bush's cousin, Dorothy. The article also refers to reports that Stapleton walked out and slammed the door on the Czech prime minister during a rift in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. These facts, and not Stapleton's language skills, earned him a spot on this list of shameful appointments.
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