Bruce Oreck is the American ambassador to Finland. He is on the US payroll. Oreck is the son of the vacuum cleaner inventor David Oreck. He got the job as ambassador–which is a “political appointee” job–as payback for raising money for President Obama and other Democrats. Oreck reportedly bundled more than $500,000 for the party in the 2008 elections. In turn, the American tax payer has gifted him with a cushy superfluous job and 250,000 frequent flyer miles, all in first class (ambassadors have privileges). Above is one of the Christmas cards he sent out from the embassy, albeit not the “official” one, which is below.
As author Peter Van Buren explains: “Close to half of America’s ambassadors are ‘political appointees.’ This tradition, pretty much unique to the U.S. and third world crap nations, crosses all party lines and is warmly embraced by both Democrats and Republicans. These political appointees range from mildly competent to complete idiots, with a heavy lean toward the latter.”
