“If you can remind me, what are Colleen Bell’s qualifications for ambassador?” ABC reporter Jonathan Karl asked at the White House press conference today. “Is it that she is a soap opera producer, is it that she gave hundreds of thousands of dollars–or helped raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Obama reelection campaign? Why was she chosen?”
Colleen Bell, together with Noah Bryson Mamet, both raised more than $1 million to help elect and reelect Obama to the White House, reported the Washington Free Beacon. While President Obama nominated Mamet (who cannot speak Spanish) to be ambassador to Argentina, Bell was just nominated to be the ambassador to Hungary.
“Jon – I can tell you that – I can tell you first that …” Earnest began haltingly. “As it relates to Ambassador Bell, she is someone that retains the confidence. Well, let me say it this way. Ambassador Bell has the president’s confidence that she will do an excellent job representing the United States and maintaining the important relationship the United States has with the government and the people of Hungary.”
“But where does the president get that confidence?” Karl asked. “In her confirmation hearing she couldn’t even name a single strategic interest the United States had with Hungary.”
“Well she certainly is somebody that has had her own distinguished private sector career,” said Earnest.
“As as a soap opera producer?” Karl shot back.
“…as somebody who has succeeded in ah – in – the business world,” Earnest said. “And she is somebody that the President has confidence will be able to maintain our relationship with the government and with the people of Hungary.”
“Can you tell me that the fact that she raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the president’s re-election campaign had nothing to do with her appointment?” Karl asked.
“I can tell you that that’s not the reason she was chosen,” Earnest said.
The Washington Free Beacon reported:
Since 2009, Obama has nominated 133 of his political allies for ambassador positions, according to the American Foreign Service Association. In his second term, the AFSA notes that an even higher percentage of his nominations have been for political reasons, with more than 40 percent going to his political allies so far.
Though many of Obama’s nominees have lacked the qualifications to properly serve as ambassadors, Mamet and Bell seem to be two of his worst choices.
At Bell’s confirmation hearing, she was unable to name a single strategic interest that the United States had in Hungary. Which is not surprising, because her main contribution as “someone who has succeeded in the business world” is as the producer of the sop opera The Bold and the Beautiful.
According to the “Certificates of Competency” submitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, there are “essential skills” needed to be an ambassador. Besides being an Obama donor, of course.