Our New Ambassador

This invite had been sitting in my inbox for a few weeks before I finally got around to looking at it.

My first thought was, cool! A chance not only to see the Ambassador's residence (located on the ever-swank Rue St. Honoré) but also to meet the new Ambassador himself! My next thought was, who is this guy? How does one get to be appointed the United States Ambassador to France?

So I had myself a google. Charles Rivkin's claims to fame include being the son of a former US Ambassador to Luxembourg under Kennedy; singing in the Whiffenpoofs at Yale; and becoming CEO of The Jim Henson Company, which made him responsible for all Muppet-related shenanigans between 2000 and 2003.

Oh, one last thing - he was California finance co-chair for President Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign, raising over $500,000. Speak French, raise money, get appointed Ambassador. I'm sure he's plenty qualified for the job, even without any prior foreign service experience (like Hilary Clinton, having a close family member with experience isn't the same thing as having experience yourself). But you also have to wonder - is he qualified for the job? We'll probably never find out, since US-France relations are about as smooth as they've ever been.

Mostly I just want to know how I can get plugged in to the "Raise Money - Become Ambassador" scene. Especially since Ambassador Rivkin's finance co-chair in California in 2008 was Nicole Avant.

She's our new Ambassador to Bermuda.