US diplomats cry foul as Obama donors take over top embassy jobs

[geek tragedy]

62. Maybe you should google, read, and then decide whether to whine or not

From the Guardian (same paper that published this story):

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/10/matthew-barzun-us-ambassador-britain-obama

It is with the nomination of Barzun, however, that the Obama administration has signalled most clearly that the UK-US relationship remains central to the Obama administration's strategic vision in the president's second term.


The US ambassador in London is often a career capstone, given to a well-heeled political insider as a glamorous, end-of-career posting.

However, this tradition contrasts with the spirit of innovative thinking and tenacious hard work in the west wing of Obama's White House. The key staff in this White House tend not be DC careerists. They are often young, technology-savvy and entrepreneurial. With the nomination of Barzun, President Obama has deployed one of this new generation of power players to London.


During the four years I spent at the state department serving secretary of state Hilary Clinton, I personally helped to train more than 150 of America's ambassadors. Some were brilliant. Some less so. Seeing him among his peers, I got a good view of Barzun as ambassador-in-training, as a political actor in Washington, and then during his successful posting as ambassador to Sweden.