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NYT's Brian Knowlton:
Mr. Obama never promised a revolutionary break with the longtime practice of awarding some political supporters with ambassadorships. “My general inclination is to have civil service wherever possible serve in these posts,” he said in January, while allowing that “there probably will be some” political appointees.
But he had been so critical of the role of money in politics and government that some in the Foreign Service expected change. For years, the number of political ambassadors hovered around 30 percent of the total. Two professional groups, the American Foreign Service Association and the American Academy of Diplomacy, have called for a maximum level of 10 percent.
As it stands, Mr. Obama could not now come close. Thirty-eight of his first 65 ambassadorial appointments were political. Even if every political envoy remaining were replaced by a career officer, the percentage would fall only to 26 percent. The lowest among recent presidents was 24 percent, under President Jimmy Carter.
Longtime Foreign Service officers all have horror stories about woefully underinformed political appointees. A George W. Bush appointee confessed to a Washington Times reporter that he had needed help in finding his new ambassadorial posting on a map.