According to the Vancouver Sun, the US has yet to appoint a new ambassador to Canada and it’s not likely that one will be sent north from the country of exceptionalism anytime soon either.
The most recent ambassador was David Jacobson, a former Obama fundraiser, whose qualifications for the job basically boiled down to having raised a significant amount of cash for Pres. Obama’s war chest.
However, he finished his four-year term in June and has gone on to other deserved rewards for his toadyism (currently he is the vice-chairman of BMO Financial Group), leaving Canada ambassador-less as it heads into the murky waters of trying to maintain sovereignty in the face of a super-power neighbor that views it as a 51st state.
Ambassador positions are appointed and in the US are purchased via one’s fund-raising abilities for the winning POTUS candidate.
In 1975, former POTUS Richard Nixon testified before a grand jury about the practice of “selling” ambassador positions to the highest bidder, aka “fundraiser”, and said that it was a common practice, but that he tried to also appoint those who were qualified for the job as well. He also said that this was what he assumed most presidents did and went on to cite an example from the Truman era:
“Perle Mesta wasn’t sent to Luxembourg because she had big bosoms,” Nixon said of the Harry S. Truman appointee. “Perle Mesta went to Luxembourg because she made a good contribution. But I may say she was a very good ambassador
It was rumored that the Canadian position was slotted for Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the late Pres. John F. Kennedy, but she held out for Japan.
So who will our next ambassador be?
Well, Anna Wintour, editor of Vogue and inspiration for boss from hell in the novel, The Devil Wears Prada, could be heading our way now that London and Paris are off the table. But odds are better that the Ottawa residence of the American ambassador will be sans ambassador for the immediate future.
Does the US State Department feel that Canada doesn’t need any special handling? That we are “sympatico” on all fronts? Or maybe this is just another rap on the knuckles for Ottawa, which has been curiously stubborn about giving into the White House of late and indeed, seems to be thumbing its nose a bit with talk of joint military exercises with China and declining to provide any material support in Syria.
Given that we are currently eight months, and counting, since the FATCA IGA signing was “imminent” with multiple signs from Obama that he is not going to consent to the KeystoneXL and the disinclination of the Canadian government to give in on allowing American police to run amuck within Canadian borders, one can only speculate about this latest development. And whether it is good or bad for Canada really depends on which side of the border the beholder is standing on.
If I understood correctly,Canada had the guts to throw out the Eritrean Ambassador(or another high ranking diplomat).Maybe the US is afraid Canada would stand up to a new US Ambassador and throw him/her out too?In addition:Canada,be strong and don’t let the US police dare come in.Who the hell does the US think they are? They behave as though they’re arrogant God almighty.Which they aren’t.Arrogant,yes.Mighty?Mighty bankrupt.
He’s currently residing with his family at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa, and has been since 2005.
Jacobsen has left and this is who is currently in charge:
http://canada.usembassy.gov/about-us/charge-daffaires-ad-interim.html
Richard M. Sanders assumed the position of Chargé d’Affaires ad Interim at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa, Canada, on July 25, 2013. He had previously served as the Director of the Department of State’s Office of Brazilian and Southern Cone Affairs from 2010 to 2013.
Mr. Sanders entered the Foreign Service in 1984. His other assignments include: Consular officer, U.S. Embassy Bogota, 1985-86; Economic Officer, U.S. Embassy Montevideo, 1986-1988; Information Officer, Office of Press Relations, Bureau of Inter-American (now Western Hemisphere) Affairs, Department of State, 1988-1990; Foreign Service Economic and Commercial Training, 1990-1991; Regional Resources Officer, U.S. Embassy Santiago, 1991-1994; Economic Officer, U.S. Embassy Madrid, 1994-1997; Officer-in-Charge for Argentine Affairs, 1997-1999; Economic Officer, U.S. Embassy Bogota, 1999-2002; Economic Counselor, U.S. Embassy Caracas, 2002-2005; Deputy Director, Office of Mexican Affairs, 2005-2007; and Deputy Chief of Mission, U.S. Embassy Managua, 2007-2010.
Mr. Sanders holds the rank of Minister-Counselor in the Senior Foreign Service. He has received the Department of State’s Superior Honor Award (three times) and the Meritorious Honor Award (4 times). In 1997 he was a State Department participant in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s “Seminar XXI: Foreign Politics, International Relations, and the National Interest.”
Prior to joining the Foreign Service Mr. Sanders practiced law in Philadelphia. He is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania’s law school, and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Trent University in Ontario, Canada. He is married to the former Romy Barrera of Santiago, Chile.
Oh, I had no doubt there was an interim but not appointing a new figure head and not having an near future plans to is a bit odd given the supposed awesome relationship between the US and Canada.
With John Baird faithfully parroting the US line about how horrible Putin is for granting Snowdon asylum in Russia (while remaining silent on the Harper government’s complicity in NSA’s massive worldwide spying on everything that moves), why would the US need an ambassador here? Baird’s already doing the job. Maybe they’ll give him a green card …
I just can’t figure out how Gary Doer can be Harper’s ambassador in Washington and face himself in the mirror every morning. Maybe he averts his eyes while shaving.
Chargé d’Affaires ad Interim Sanders has a B.A. from Trent University. I wonder whether he is Canadian-born.
How much does it cost to buy a US Ambassadorship? How much of a bagman do you have to be to buy a post to Canada?
See the Allison Christians blog;
“Sunday, September 29, 2013
How to Buy a US Ambassadorship, and How Much to Pay
The recent news about the newly appointed US ambassador to Canada, Bruce Heyman–described as “A veteran Goldman Sachs & Co. executive and major fundraiser” for President Obama–reminded me of a paper I read some time ago in which the authors showed that ambassadorships are bought by contributing to the political coffers of the winning presidential candidate. All too unfortunately, this comes as no surprise. The more contributed, the more likely the desired post is obtained. The paper is “What Price the Court of St. James? Political Influences on Ambassadorial Postings of the United States,” by Johannes Fedderke and Dennis Jett, and here’s a sample of the menu it describes, from a Table called “The Price of Some Lucrative Postings Implied by the Model”:”
http://taxpol.blogspot.ca/2013/09/how-to-buy-us-ambassadorship-and-how.html
Thanks, badger, for Allison Christians blog on this. My comment at National Post regarding Mr. Heyman’s nomination was: