While President Clinton can be praised for promptly filling vacant ambassador posts, a better effort should be made in appointing career diplomats rather than using the prestigious posts as political paybacks.
Since the 1960s, the mix of ambassador appointments has been roughly 70 percent career and 30 percent political. Despite Secretary of State Warren Christopher's promise to the diplomatic corps that he would change that ratio and promote more ambassadors from State Department ranks, his boss has maintained the 70-30 status quo.That's not to say all private sector appointments to top diplomatic overseas posts are bad. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has praised the political appointees' qualifications so far.
Clinton's largest and wealthiest campaign contributor, Swanee Hunt - whose family has made billions in Texas oil and real estate -studied in Europe, speaks German, Italian and French and is expected to win Senate approval as ambassador to Austria.
But a couple of questionable nominations are surfacing. Sidney Williams, a Mercedes Benz consultant in California and husband to a Democratic congresswoman, is bucking for the Caribbean post; and Larry Lawrence, another California businessman who has an interest in a posh San Diego hotel, is likely to land the ambassadorship to Switzerland.
There is some qualified talent in the private sector that should be tapped for ambassadors. But a car dealer and a hotelier reportedly without any language skills, regional expertise or international experience don't appear appropriate to represent the United States abroad.
At the very least, ambassador appointees should possess the language skills and backgrounds that would complement their foreign assignments. In this day and age, ambassadorships must represent more than mere political patronage.