You might recall a couple of months ago that White House chief of staff Reince Priebus was reported to be in favor of nominating Marlins owner Jeff Loria to be the ambassador to France. I’m not sure what happened with that in the interim, but Prebius just got pushed out so, presumably, his ideas no longer hold currency in the West Wing.
Enter a new nominee for the title of ambassador to France: Jaime McCourt, the ex-wife of former Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Or so reports the Boston Globe. So at least they’re keeping it baseball-related.
For those who don’t recall, Jamie McCourt’s tenure as co-owner of the Dodgers was tumultuous. That is, if you even consider her a co-owner. She claimed at various times that she was or wasn’t depending on whether or not it suited her financially at any given moment and Frank, of course, claimed the opposite whenever it suited him. It was complicated. The important part was that, when she and Frank got divorced, all hell broke loose for a couple of years, making a lot of lawyers rich.
Jamie McCourt also acted financially sophisticated or unsophisticated depending upon what the situation called for. She has an MBA from MIT and a law degree, and worked in private practice as an international securities lawyer for years, representing sophisticated companies in complex deals. Then, after buying the Dodgers, she became deeply involved in matters relating to broadcasting and regional sports network negotiations and ran the team’s charitable operations. That is until all the lawsuits and investigations started and she pretended to be a babe in the woods, wholly unaware of how complicated business was. Since then she’s gone on speaking tours in which she tells women just how bad it is to be unaware of one’s financial situation like she was. Good work if you can get it!
As for the job in France: diplomacy is a tricky business. You have to be able to navigate complicated situations and maintain complicated relationships as facts and positions change on the ground. You have to be flexible and not be afraid of shifting positions as the political winds blow from different directions.
Which is to say that Jamie McCourt outta be perfect for the job.