Karen Hughes Has No Overseas Experience
We recently heard a high-ranking member of the State Department announce to a group of assembled junior FSOs that whoever the President picks as the next Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs will be a strong indicator of the direction the President intends to take not only this crucial component of our Department, but the Department itself.
What that means is that the President's appointment of Karen Hughes to that position has effectively ended the mini-debate about whether Condoleeza Rice's appointment could mean either that the President intended to engage the foreign affairs establishment or shake it up. The appointment of Hughes can only mean that the President intends to shape and bend the bureaucracy of the Department to suit his needs.
Too many of our colleagues seem to be unaware that they are not charged with saving the world and are, instead, commissioned officers of the President of the United States.
If this keeps up, we'll be forced to implement the foreign policy of the United States.
You can tell how good an appointment is by the number of howls that go up from the establishment, and right now they're howling. It appears that Ms. Hughes has no overseas or foreign experience. She may not have ever even approved a visa or been on a prison visit. The moaning and sneering reveals a complete lack of understanding about the difference between career appointments and political appointments.
Political appointees aren't supposed to be experts; they're supposed to provide policy leadership based on the will of the Executive, who has been elected and entrusted to the job by the American people. Experts execute policy, politicians direct it. And we suspect that PD is about to get an advance preview of the kinds of changes the Department can probably expect none too soon.
And, by the way, Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn't have any military command experience.
What that means is that the President's appointment of Karen Hughes to that position has effectively ended the mini-debate about whether Condoleeza Rice's appointment could mean either that the President intended to engage the foreign affairs establishment or shake it up. The appointment of Hughes can only mean that the President intends to shape and bend the bureaucracy of the Department to suit his needs.
Too many of our colleagues seem to be unaware that they are not charged with saving the world and are, instead, commissioned officers of the President of the United States.
If this keeps up, we'll be forced to implement the foreign policy of the United States.
You can tell how good an appointment is by the number of howls that go up from the establishment, and right now they're howling. It appears that Ms. Hughes has no overseas or foreign experience. She may not have ever even approved a visa or been on a prison visit. The moaning and sneering reveals a complete lack of understanding about the difference between career appointments and political appointments.
Political appointees aren't supposed to be experts; they're supposed to provide policy leadership based on the will of the Executive, who has been elected and entrusted to the job by the American people. Experts execute policy, politicians direct it. And we suspect that PD is about to get an advance preview of the kinds of changes the Department can probably expect none too soon.
And, by the way, Franklin Delano Roosevelt didn't have any military command experience.
