THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION Embassy Row

[The Sushi Bandit]

http://www.opensecrets.org/bush/ambassadors/index.asp

When a new president sits down to decide who will represent the United States in countries abroad, the names of big campaign contributors almost always come up. To be sure, the president generally appoints career foreign service officers as envoys to developing countries and other nations requiring the presence of an experienced diplomat. But ambassadorships to many of the more desirable locales (usually First World countries with strong ties to the United States, such as France, Italy and Austria) often are offered to the privileged few who contributed generous amounts of money to the president and his party during the campaign.

The practice has decades of precedent -- from Franklin Roosevelt's appointment of Joseph Kennedy as ambassador to Great Britain, to Bill Clinton's selection of Larry Lawrence as the U.S. envoy to Switzerland. In both cases, the chosen were wealthy businessmen who contributed big bucks to the president's campaign. In return for their financial support, these donors enjoyed the cachet that comes with being an ambassador.

For example:

SWITZERLAND
Mercer Reynolds
$456,173 to the GOP*


Note: Mr. Reynolds stepped down as ambassador to Switzerland in March 2003.

President Bush nominated a wealthy contributor and former business partner as ambassador to Switzerland, one of the most desirable posts on the world map.

Reynolds and another famous investor, William DeWitt, Jr., own the successful investing firm Reynolds, DeWitt & Co. The two have enjoyed a long business relationship with Bush: They bailed out Bush's struggling oil company in 1984, and involved him in their 1989 purchase of the Texas Rangers baseball team. Bush ran the franchise, with the endorsement of Reynolds and DeWitt, and made millions in the process.

Reynolds and DeWitt raised more than $3 million for the Bush campaign and served as co-chairmen of the Bush-Cheney inaugural committee, which took in a reported $40 million, according to the Associated Press.

Reynolds himself donated $208,673 to Republican candidates and party committees in the 1999-2000 election cycle, including $155,200 in soft money. His wife, Gabrielle, and immediate family contributed another $142,500, all to the GOP. Reynolds also contributed $100,000 to the Bush-Cheney inaugural fund and $5,000 to the Bush-Cheney recount effort. The employees and family of Reynolds, DeWitt & Co. accounted for $953,027 in contributions (including $518,500 in soft money), all of which went to the GOP.