The ambassadors: A place where big money still talks

WASHINGTON - When it comes to rewarding big-money donors with plush ambassador appointments, the more things change under President Obama, the more they stay the same.

Obama has said that he would try to reduce the number of non-career appointees as U.S. envoys abroad. But the majority of his picks so far have been wealthy donors such as Minneapolis attorney Sam Kaplan. The prominent DFL fundraiser, together with his wife, Sylvia, bundled or collected more than $100,000 for Obama's record-breaking presidential campaign.

Another is Boston lawyer Barry White, a major Obama donor recently named ambassador to Norway, replacing Minnesota native Ben Whitney -- a fundraising "pioneer" ($100,000-plus) for former President George W. Bush.

Kaplan, who will be sworn in Sept. 18 as ambassador to Morocco, argues that good diplomacy requires a healthy mix of career and non-career ambassadors. "They know so much, but we know a lot too," he said. "We bring different disciplines, different areas of expertise and experience."

Others note that successful party activists such as Kaplan -- who will resign from his law firm and give up all other political, business and civic commitments -- have spent lifetimes navigating intricate power relationships, business deals and politics. That can bring their host countries more clout and prestige.

"The government of Morocco knows that Kaplan is a strong supporter of Barack Obama, and knows a lot of people in the Democratic Party," said former U.S. Under Secretary of State J. Brian Atwood, dean of the University of Minnesota's Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs.

"That's the benefit, especially if you get somebody who's competent like Sam."

The practice of 'Simony'

"It is fair to say that the expectation was, based on the kinds of things that President Obama said during the campaign ... that he would limit the use of political appointments," said Susan Johnson, president of the Foreign Service Association. "Political ambassadorial appointments ought to be an exception, not a routine practice."

So far, 38 of 65 ambassador appointments -- more than 58 percent -- are political, a much higher percentage than the historical average of about 30 percent, according to the Foreign Service Association.

But, the first slots in the most desirable "watering spot" destinations have gone to the politically connected and the big-money types. Appointments to less-enviable destinations -- such as Yemen and Uzbekistan -- tend to fill later with career foreign service officers.

Former U.S. Ambassador Thomas Pickering, chairman of the American Academy of Diplomacy, calls it a form of "simony" -- the ancient practice of buying public offices.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs has described Obama's diplomatic picks as "a group of committed individuals and proven professionals that are eager to serve their country."

White House aides also note that, including holdovers from the Bush administration, the current ratio of noncareer ambassadors still hovers at around the 30 percent average maintained since the days of President John F. Kennedy.

While Obama's appointments are flush with Democratic heavy-hitters, they also include former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, a Republican who bundled $500,000 for Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign last year. Huntsman was confirmed this month as the U.S. ambassador to China.

On the other end of the influence scale is Minnesota theologian Miguel Diaz, a professor at the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University in Collegeville. He gave a total of $1,000 to the Obama campaign, but was chosen as the envoy to the Vatican, mainly for his outreach to Catholics during the campaign.

In Atwood's view, such political appointments illustrate the need for "fresh blood" and "people who reflect the politics of the time" -- supporters who have a passion for the president's foreign policy.

Atwood helped guide Kaplan through the appointment process long before it was made public. He says Kaplan belongs in the same category as Mondale: competent, smart and politically attuned to the White House.

In rare company

Kaplan says that he didn't ask for the job, but that he was thrilled to get a call from the transition team a few weeks after Obama's historic election. He did not hesitate: "The answer was yes."

A few weeks later came another call to discuss where he might serve. Argentina and Portugal were mentioned. By March, Kaplan said, he was designated for Morocco, placing him among a handful of Jewish diplomats serving this country in the Arab world. Morocco readily gave its consent.

"What followed was a period of truly intensive vetting that took about three months," Kaplan said. After passing security and background checks, Kaplan has been in an intensive diplomatic training program and security briefings.

Now, heading for Morocco, Kaplan said that he and his wife will have to leave all that behind, a departure that many party insiders say will leave a significant vacuum in the DFL's fundraising apparatus.

"I am no longer, at least for this period of time, political," Kaplan said.