American ambassadorships often one step in a lobbying career path

Embassy magazine publishes a column about speculation of who will be the next U.S. ambassador to Canada; the smart money is on David Jacobson, a Chicago lawyer, fundraiser and "bundler" for Barack Obama. Columnist Leslie Campbell explores the career path of past U.S. ambassadors, many of whom wind up as lobbyists advising Canadian clients after their term is up.

Campbell is critical of the Harper government's recent hiring of lobbyists in Washington:

The Harper government's engagement of former White House spokesmen Mike McCurry and Ari Fleischer had many Washington tongues wagging. Beside the obvious question of what the Canadian Embassy in Washington's role is supposed to be, it beggars belief that Canada's status in the U.S. is so low that American flacks have to sell the prime minister to cable networks. Far from helping Canada's case, the McCurry/Fleischer hiring highlights Canada's fecklessness, not its strengths.