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WASHINGTON — He has never visited the country. He called a party within the governing coalition a “fringe” group. He didn’t offer any ideas on how to grow trade.
Days after George Tsunis, President Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Norway, gave unsteady testimony at his Senate confirmation hearing, a group of Minnesotans took up the cause of preventing the New York businessman from getting the post.
Minnesota is the natural place to raise such a movement. It has the largest Norwegian-American population in the United States, and it’s home to major Norwegian groups like the Sons of Norway International. After Tsunis’ rough testimony, Twin Cities attorney T. Michael Davis organized a campaign to either win Norway a new nominee, or, if all else fails, see that the Senate votes down Tsunis’ appointment.
“We want the American citizens to have a qualified ambassador in Oslo, and we want the government in Oslo to be dealing with a qualified ambassador,” said Davis, a member of the state’s Norwegian-American Chamber of Commerce. “This is just basic common sense.”
Davis and his allies, backed by a broader group of people within Minnesota’s Norwegian-American community, penned a Star Tribune op-ed to that effect last week, but that’s just the most public display of the group’s discontent.
Davis wrote White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough directly about the nomination. He spoke to staffers for both Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, who will vote on Tsunis’ confirmation if he comes to the Senate floor, and who say they’re concerned about his nomination, as well as officials with Reps. Erik Paulsen and Betty McCollum, co-chairs of the Friends of Norway Caucus in the House.
Bruce Gjovig, the chairman of the University of North Dakota’s Nordic Initiative, said he did the same with his congressional delegation, and that others in Wisconsin and Iowa are doing the same. Many high-profile Norweigan-Americans have signed an online petition to get Tsunis’ nomination taken off the table.
“He lost credibility with the people of Norway right from the get-go with his comments during this hearing,” Gjovig said. “You don’t get that credibility back very easily.”
Shaky testimony
Davis said he hadn’t worried about Tsunis’ qualifications for the job until the nominee testified before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee on Jan. 23. That went so poorly that Davis considers him “damaged goods.”
Tsunis stumbled badly through a series of questions about what he would do as ambassador to the country. He told the committee he’s never been to Norway. He gave a string of stats about American-Norwegian trade, but, when asked, couldn’t say what he’d do to expand it. Under heavy questioning from Sen. John McCain — who has criticized several of Obama’s foreign affairs nominations — Tsunis called the country’s Progress Party “fringe elements” that “spew hatred” because of its tough stance on immigration policy.
The Progress Party is actually Norway’s third largest party, and a member of the country’s parliamentary ruling coalition. (Tsunis also said the country has a president, when in fact it’s a constitutional monarchy.)
Norwegians were not pleased. The Local, an English-language Norwegian news service, has hammered Tsunis as “blundering” and “displaying total ignorance.” A Progress Party spokesman asked Obama to apologize for Tsunis’ testimony.
Klobuchar, Franken: ‘Concerns’
Tsunis didn’t endear him with lawmakers, either.
In statements, both Minnesota senators said they were unsettled by Tsunis’ performance. Klobuchar said she has “significant concerns” with his nomination, and “I will be speaking with members of the Norwegian-American community to discuss it in the coming weeks.”
“I was very troubled by the testimony Mr. Tsunis gave during his confirmation hearing,” Franken said. “And I have very serious concerns about whether he’s up to the job.”
Though the House has no vote on presidential appointments, McCollum said she’s followed Tsunis closely since he was nominated. She said she and others in the Friends of Norway Caucus were surprised his testimony.
“I’m sure he’s a lovely person, but it would seem to me that if I was going to be front of a Senate confirmation hearing to become an ambassador of the United States, I would have been reading about the culture and the politics and had myself up to date with what’s going on,” she said.
Asked about Tsunis’ testimony days later, White House spokesman Jay Carney said he hadn’t seen the committee hearing, but, “the President has confidence in all of the nominees he’s put forward for ambassadorial positions as well as other positions in the administration, in the government.”
Tsunis a political appointee
Tsunis was a major bundler for Obama, raising nearly $850,000 for his 2012 re-election campaign, according to the Center on Responsive Politics.
He’s what’s called a political appointee, meaning he doesn’t come from the ranks of career diplomats. Appointments like his are far from rare, and presidents have long rewarded political allies with posh ambassadorships.
They’re often not as controversial as Tsunis (who was mocked on the Daily Show last week alongside a handful of other Obama political appointees). Minneapolis attorney and major Democratic donor Sam Kaplan served as Obama’s ambassador to Morocco for three and a half years, and Walter Mondale was ambassador to Japan under Bill Clinton. By all accounts, the Japanese have embraced their new ambassador, Caroline Kennedy.
“There’s not really a bright line between whether you’re career or not and your effectiveness, really,” said Benson Whitney, a Minnesota businessman who served as ambassador to Norway under Presidents George W. Bush and Obama. “There are some great non-career ambassadors and some great career ambassadors. And there have been crummy career ambassadors and some crummy non-career ambassadors.”
Whitney, a member of an advisory council at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, observed what he called the “well-deserved tradition” of not speaking ill of his potential successor.
He admitted he wasn’t terribly active in the Norwegian-American community before his appointment, and he’d only visited the country as a child. But, “I worked very hard to understand the society and the government and the institutions because that’s a part of being an effective advocate for the president and the people and the United States,” he said.
For their part, Davis and others worry Tsunis’ stumbles may have already undone his potential effectiveness as ambassador. Davis suggested Obama appoint someone new for Norway and give Tsunis a fresh start with a diplomatic mission elsewhere.
“They’ll treat [Tsunis] with respect, but no one will have respect for him,” Davis said. “President Obama has a good legacy, his perception is good over there, but if this is pushed, that’s also going to be ruined.”
Devin Henry can be reached at dhenry@minnpost.com. Follow him on Twitter: @dhenry
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10 Comments
Tsunis
Dette er en norsk som ikke er fornøyd i det hele tatt med Tsunis. Han innrømmer at han har aldri vært der og fornærmet regjeringen, men verre han fornærmet kongen ved å ikke engang vite hva slags regjering Norge har.
(This is one Norwegian who is not happy at all with Tsunis. He admits he has never been there and insulted the government, but worse he insulted the King by not even knowing the type of government Norway has.)
The Obama administration most admires the money Tsunis raised and his political loyalty, not competence. That is all that Tsunis brought to the table. I hope Obama chooses someone else but I’m not holding my breath.
But seriously, with due respect for the (legitimate) interests of the Norwegian constituency, if we start demanding competence of patronage appointments, what will happen to “the Way Things Are Done Around Here”? What will be next, demanding that members of Congress pursue the common good?
… also known as the Progress Party, is not a Norwegian fringe party, but it’s close. It’s ridiculous that an American ambassador be in the position of apologizing to this populist relic of Thatcherism and Reaganism. That disqualifies him.
This episode shows just how trivial Norway is in the foreign policy of the United States and Pres. Obama.
But it’s not just Norway, and it’s not just the long-standing practice of using ambassadorships as prizes for performance. It’s really the display of devaluation of the sovereignty of all nation states outside of the U.S.
The Norway instance is just a particularly embarrassing example.
You gotta wonder if this appointee had any reservations at all about accepting an appointment to a position where he was completely unqualified.
If he had no reservations, what is this appointment to him, anyway – a career bullet point for his vitae? Didn’t he have a SINGLE friend, associate, or spouse who would have said to him, “You’d better read a little about Norway before this hearing.”??
There is a saying in DC that every decision is a political decision. Political appointees are no different, some maybe qualified but most appointments are pay packs and it is how the system works. It certainly would help the standing of ambassadors and the US if the ambassadors could speak the primarily language of the country they go to as well as understand the geo/political landscape. There has been talk to having career diplomats being rewarded ambassadorships since they typically have these skills but it will never get any traction as long as money has such power in US politics.
I suppose Tsunis will have a ‘fracking’ good time’ once he secures/ invests in the mineral rights under a few fjords….under the patriotic excuse for keeping China out of those new oil developments?
Or let’s say, anyone want to write a new Nordic myth? Story of the Cod and the Cad…about Baby Face George as ambassador who eats lutefisk and is convinced those cold Nordic types have poisoned him, ja.
Norway isn’t pleased but think of it this way…he’ll be fun to watch… but also watch your fjords. He’ll invest in them as real estate – hotels etc and whatever oily real estate that can be fracked beneath, ja du …
Another thought; Why not nominate Robert Bly poet- Ambassador. I’m no fan of his verse but export him to fame and fortune; a rare circumstance among poor poets…and his poetry may sound better in Norsk, who knows?
Plus back to George… if he is not literally challenged as he appears to be in some areas, I suggest he read “Sharks” by the late, great cynical, mad Norwegian novelist Jens Bjorne-boe (.and the ‘boe’ is pronounced ‘boo’ eh?
Tsunis
Dette er en norsk som ikke er fornøyd i det hele tatt med Tsunis. Han innrømmer at han har aldri vært der og fornærmet regjeringen, men verre han fornærmet kongen ved å ikke engang vite hva slags regjering Norge har.
(This is one Norwegian who is not happy at all with Tsunis. He admits he has never been there and insulted the government, but worse he insulted the King by not even knowing the type of government Norway has.)
most admired
The Obama administration most admires the money Tsunis raised and his political loyalty, not competence. That is all that Tsunis brought to the table. I hope Obama chooses someone else but I’m not holding my breath.
Wait until Fox gets ahold of this one.
Benghazi! IRS! Oslo-gate!
But seriously, with due respect for the (legitimate) interests of the Norwegian constituency, if we start demanding competence of patronage appointments, what will happen to “the Way Things Are Done Around Here”? What will be next, demanding that members of Congress pursue the common good?
The Regressive Party…
… also known as the Progress Party, is not a Norwegian fringe party, but it’s close. It’s ridiculous that an American ambassador be in the position of apologizing to this populist relic of Thatcherism and Reaganism. That disqualifies him.
Uff Da !!
This episode shows just how trivial Norway is in the foreign policy of the United States and Pres. Obama.
But it’s not just Norway, and it’s not just the long-standing practice of using ambassadorships as prizes for performance. It’s really the display of devaluation of the sovereignty of all nation states outside of the U.S.
The Norway instance is just a particularly embarrassing example.
You gotta wonder if this appointee had any reservations at all about accepting an appointment to a position where he was completely unqualified.
If he had no reservations, what is this appointment to him, anyway – a career bullet point for his vitae? Didn’t he have a SINGLE friend, associate, or spouse who would have said to him, “You’d better read a little about Norway before this hearing.”??
A little less proceedure and a little more biography
Would be nice to know something about this guy other than he’s a New York business man. What kind of business, where’s he from etc.
I do worry about drawing political appointments from our executive class because we have such a mediocre crop of executives to choose from these days.
This is how DC works
There is a saying in DC that every decision is a political decision. Political appointees are no different, some maybe qualified but most appointments are pay packs and it is how the system works. It certainly would help the standing of ambassadors and the US if the ambassadors could speak the primarily language of the country they go to as well as understand the geo/political landscape. There has been talk to having career diplomats being rewarded ambassadorships since they typically have these skills but it will never get any traction as long as money has such power in US politics.
Let him eat lutefisk
I suppose Tsunis will have a ‘fracking’ good time’ once he secures/ invests in the mineral rights under a few fjords….under the patriotic excuse for keeping China out of those new oil developments?
Or let’s say, anyone want to write a new Nordic myth? Story of the Cod and the Cad…about Baby Face George as ambassador who eats lutefisk and is convinced those cold Nordic types have poisoned him, ja.
Norway isn’t pleased but think of it this way…he’ll be fun to watch… but also watch your fjords. He’ll invest in them as real estate – hotels etc and whatever oily real estate that can be fracked beneath, ja du …
Another thought; Why not nominate Robert Bly poet- Ambassador. I’m no fan of his verse but export him to fame and fortune; a rare circumstance among poor poets…and his poetry may sound better in Norsk, who knows?
Plus back to George… if he is not literally challenged as he appears to be in some areas, I suggest he read “Sharks” by the late, great cynical, mad Norwegian novelist Jens Bjorne-boe (.and the ‘boe’ is pronounced ‘boo’ eh?
I want to see his face when they set him down to a meal…
…of lutefisk – and Gammalost, that stinker of a cheese.
A Norwegian favorite for long years, the “cheese of the Vikings.”, whose virtues are extolled in the “Gammalost Song”:
” Gammalost, Gammalost
…sweeter than old socks…
…never fear for spoiling
it’s been well past all that…”
(from lyrics to Gammalost Song – you can listen to it at http://home.centurytel.net/thechronicle/gamalost_song.mp3)