Brown's radical past and prior record at ACTION made it impossible to get Jesse Helms' approval for an ambassadorial appointment. So Brown served a full tour as the Head of Delegation, without the rank of ambassador, to the US Mission to the OSCE in Vienna. Intent on leaving government service with the title of Ambassador, however, Brown reached out to his former secretary Betty Curry, Bill Clinton's personal secretary in the White House (who had an interesting role herself in the Monica Lewinsky scandal), for help. She made sure that the President gave Brown an "interim" appointment, a temporary measure permitted under law while the Congress is in recess, that gave Sam Brown the title, but not rank, of Ambassador.
How Action Head Sam Brown got Bill Clinton's appointment to head our delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
Calling Out The "Monster"? Hey Wait, That's My Job!
By Mark Wiznitzer - Mar 7th, 2008 at 11:29 pm EST
Also listed in: 10 groups
[Excerpt]
So, it's too bad. Samantha Power's angry outburst reported by a foreign journalist has lead to her resignation from the campaign. Just in case it is not yet clear to her, this means that her role in an Obama Administration will probably be limited at least initially to a position that does not require Senate confirmation. There are lots of those at the NSC and State Department for a brilliant policy professional like Ms. Power, especially with her background on the crises in Darfur and the Balkans. In fact, she would find a precedent and suitable match in Bill Clinton's appointment of Sam Brown to head our delegation to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has had a major institutional role in Kosovo, Chechnya, and as far away as Central Asia.
Brown's radical past and prior record at ACTION made it impossible to get Jesse Helms' approval for an ambassadorial appointment. So Brown served a full tour as the Head of Delegation, without the rank of ambassador, to the US Mission to the OSCE in Vienna. Intent on leaving government service with the title of Ambassador, however, Brown reached out to his former secretary Betty Curry, Bill Clinton's personal secretary in the White House (who had an interesting role herself in the Monica Lewinsky scandal), for help. She made sure that the President gave Brown an "interim" appointment, a temporary measure permitted under law while the Congress is in recess, that gave Sam Brown the title, but not rank, of Ambassador.
