It is still news of the weird time here at First Draft. This odd info was cribbed from a column by one of my favorite writers at the Guardian, Simon Hoggart:

We have friends from our days in Washington who have always been
involved in foreign affairs and diplomacy. They have long experience,
and would like some more – perhaps by his becoming an ambassador. The
most desired posts – London, Paris, Beijing, Tokyo, etc – are out of
reach because they always go to the big fundraisers, usually with a
career diplomat at their elbow telling them what to do. Our friends
would be happy with something quite modest. But they are in competition
with hundreds, perhaps thousands of others. And the process is
incredibly lengthy and complicated. A single ill-wisher in the state
department or the White House can ruin your chances. Even having a close
chum in a position of power does not necessarily help. Some time ago,
the wife reported: “We were on track for a multilateral position in
Vienna, till we received a call from our best friend in White House
personnel. Things could go sideways for us. Why? Because The Sound Of
Music had just been shown on network TV, leading to ‘a new surge of
interest in Austria’.”

I am legendary for my loathing of this film even though I like the composers, director and stars. There’s just something about it that inspires OTT hatred on my part.

Back to the Ambassadorial angle. Simon’s piece has implanted images in my head of wealthy Dems strolling about Foggy Bottom whilst wearing lederhosen and imitating Wolfgang Puck. Perhaps the best Puck impersonator should get the job or they should have a Sound Of Music sing-off or some such shit.

Ah, the things I think about first thing in the morning, which evokes a Rogers and Hammerstein song from a better musical: