NBC’s Andrea Mitchell reported Wednesday night on the political nature of President Obama’s nominees for ambassador posts. It is not uncommon for a president to award those close to him with plush posts overseas, but the nominee typically has at least some shred of credibility. “If you collect more than two million dollars for the president’s reelection campaign like the soap opera’s glamorous producer Colleen Bell did,” Mitchell said, “It’s apparently a ticket to represent the U.S. in Hungary.” The White House has been mocked and grilled over the overt cronyism of Bell’s appointment. Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) was shown during a recent speech on the Senate floor where he slammed Bell. Bell has “No experience in foreign policy or national security, no familiarity with the language, country or the region.” McCain said. “But that fact is, this nominee is totally unqualified.” A record 41% of President Obama’s ambassador’s are political. Mitchell pointed out that it is not uncommon for political operatives close the president to be nominated for ambassadorial positions, but even Bell’s supporters know “diplomacy is not a soap opera.”
I don't mind, and no one else really minds, putting some supporters in Ambassadorial positions. Let them have a job in Trinidad and Tobago, the Seychelles, someplace nice and safe where nothing can get too badly screwed up.
Hungary is "interesting."
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Buoyed by pressure from the United States, throngs of ordinary Hungarians are fighting back against Prime Minister Viktor Orban's drive to consolidate power through a perceived crackdown on civil liberties.
Since mid-October, Hungarians have waged a string of street rallies in Budapest and other cities to protest a range of alleged misdeeds by Orban, including a violation of democratic norms, suspected tolerance to corruption and an increasingly pro-Russian stance that is harming ties with the West.
U.S. criticism has played a strong supporting role, with the latest salvo coming this week from Sen. John McCain, who called Orban a "neofascist dictator." Hungary's foreign ministry on Wednesday summoned the top American diplomat in Budapest over McCain's comments. Last month Washington imposed entry bans on six Hungarian officials suspected of corruption, while both President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton have criticized Orban's authoritarian course.
Tamas Mellar, a former Orban ally who spoke at his first anti-Orban rally in late October, said the U.S. corruption allegations were a catalyst for him, giving him hope that change is possible.
"At that moment I also began to feel that we are not completely alone and that this whole issue is not hopeless," said Mellar, a onetime economic adviser to Orban who now teaches at university. "I believe many of us began to think this way and many people who had not been politically active went out to the streets."
Julia Lakatos, an analyst with the Center for Fair Political Analysis in Budapest, said she considers the protests "a tipping point."
"While the protests will not bring early elections or a change of government, they have shown that there is pent up frustration on all sides of the political spectrum," Lakatos said. This frustration, she argued, is "giving an impetus to civil society, which may eventually lead a group of activists to step into the limelight."
The rising social mood against Orban has been sparked largely by repressive measures against civil society, including laws to stifle critical journalists and constitutional protections of conservative Christian values. A defining moment in his tenure came in July, when he gave a speech saying he wants to turn Hungary into an "illiberal state" and cited Russia, China, Turkey and Singapore as successful models.
Many Hungarians are angry over Orban's apparent lurch toward Russian President Vladimir Putin, manifested by the inking of key energy deals with Moscow.
The issue that sparked the largest protests in October was a plan by Orban to impose a tax on Internet usage, a perceived violation of free speech. The show of opposition by large numbers of young middle class people in protests in October forced Orban to shelve the idea in its current form, though he says he might revisit the matter next year.
Thousands also turned out at a pair of rallies in November to protest corruption, while about 2,000 people marched on Nov. 22 to protest planned spending cuts and centralization in the educational system. The changes include plans to urge more students to leave university-track schools in favor of vocational-track programs. Orban's critics view it as another attempt to weaken civil society.
"The government does not want too many thinking people who can form an independent image of the world," said Mellar.
Except for the shift in the Internet tax, the government has not substantially addressed the criticisms.
And the government has brushed off Washington's denunciations, saying it want the U.S. to provide proof of the alleged corruption by the six banned officials so it can launch an investigation. In particular, Hungary refuses to the remove Ildiko Vida, the head of the tax office who has acknowledged being among those barred — while also denying corruption allegations.
McCain's comments Tuesday were made while unsuccessfully trying to persuade the Senate to reject President Obama's nominee to fill the vacant U.S. ambassador post in Hungary. McCain said soap opera producer Colleen Bell was "totally unqualified" for the task.
McCain, who met Orban in February, said Hungary was "on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neo-fascist dictator getting in bed with Vladimir Putin."
The tensions between Orban's government and the U.S. have played out over Twitter. The U.S. Embassy's charge d'affaires, Andre Goodfriend, attended one of the protests against the Internet tax, drawing a rebuke from government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs, who criticized him for joining a rally led by the opposition liberals and Socialists and accused him of trying to influence Hungarian affairs.
Goodfriend, who was summoned Wednesday as the most senior U.S. diplomat in Budapest, said he was just trying to see what was happening in the country. He later posted a picture of himself on Twitter at an earlier pro-Orban rally, saying: "I try to see the full range of life in Hungary."
Orban, 51, won his second stint as prime minister in 2010 with a two-thirds majority in parliament that allowed him to start centralizing power. He overwhelmingly won re-election earlier this year after changing the elections laws to favor his party.
I'm sorry, but a country which borders on Ukraine, and is about to undergo protests which may be violent while the government starts dismantling freedoms and getting buddy-buddy with Russia is no place for an amateur.
Let her have the job in some island paradise.
Unless, of course, Obama is trying to give Europe to the Russians. Then this all makes sense.
"I am not against political appointees," McCain said. "I understand how the game is played, but here we are, a nation that's on the verge of ceding its sovereignty to a neofacist dictator and we're going to send the producer of "The Bold and Beautiful?" I urge my colleagues to stop this foolishness."
I regret not voting for this man in 2008.
Hernando's Hideaway Plank Owner America's best radio station: wfmu.org | My Reality Remix topics blog: Here
The ability to be bought(or blackmailed) is the only requirement to be qualified for any political office. I.Q. can be an advantage, but isn't really necessary. :)
insert quote hereI'm sorry, but a country which borders on Ukraine, and is about to undergo protests which may be violent while the government starts dismantling freedoms and getting buddy-buddy with Russia is no place for an amateur.
The worst thing is? I actually did stop, run out and do some quick checking and had to confirm for myself that this wasn't what she actually sent in. I caught some of her confirmation hearings and given her ditzy bimbo appearance there? This actually looked plausible. THAT is scary....