The new ambassador

When it comes to selecting U.S. ambassadors to Canada, the process, much like sausage making, is usually distasteful. But the end result can often be surprisingly appetizing.

Bruce Heyman, Barack Obama’s choice to succeed David Jacobson as American envoy in Ottawa, fits the pattern. Like Jacobson at the time of his appointment in 2009, he’s from Chicago, has zero diplomatic experience and his chief qualification for the job is that he raised pots of money for the U.S. president’s election campaigns.

Such credentials generally distress those of delicate sensibilities. They would much prefer to see seasoned diplomats, rather than presidential bagmen, assigned such important roles.

But the practice of rewarding fundraisers with ambassadorships is so common in the United States, it may as well be entrenched in the U.S. Constitution. And much as we might curl our collective lip, it isn’t necessary a bad thing for Canada.

Ambassadors who have done yeoman service for a president generally have the ear of their grateful patron. That was certainly the case with Jacobson, widely seen as an effective ambassador whose close ties to Obama helped resolve several bilateral irritants. There’s no reason to think that Heyman, also an Obama insider, will be any less effective if the U.S. Senate confirms his nomination this fall.

There’s been much gnashing of teeth over the gap between Jacobson’s departure in early July and Obama’s announcement this week. Some interpreted that as a slight, a sign the Americans are just not that into us.

More likely, the delay was caused by political considerations in the U.S., or perhaps complications related to the complex investment portfolio Heyman — a partner at Goldman Sachs in Chicago — has amassed.

There’s been speculation that Obama delayed the announcement because he feared some U.S. senators might use confirmation of Heyman’s appointment to force his hand on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Whatever its role in delaying his appointment, Keystone XL will be an important early test of Heyman’s clout with the U.S. president. We should all wish him a swift learning curve.