U.S. to FINALLY Get Ambassador to Brazil?

I'd been wanting to blog about this for awhile. The ever-classy Jim DeMint, friend to coup-mongers, had been stalling Obama's appointment for the U.S. Ambassador to Brazil for months. DeMint claimed it was because of Obama's position in the Honduras crisis, which began on June 28. Still, as Brazil had (of yet) anything to do with Honduras, DeMint's position really just came off as a bunch of hollow and useless grandstanding. DeMint's position was indefensible, and it was absurd that the U.S. still did not have an ambassador to Brazil, one of the top ten largest economies in the world and an increasingly important global power in economic, political, and diplomatic issues. DeMint's attention-grabbing measures were stupid and damaging to developing relations with Brazil. I was all ready this weekend to go into great detail on the possible consequences of DeMint's actions.

However, it seems that post is not necessary, as apparently, Obama's policy towards Honduras has "shifted" enough that he now is willing to unblock Thomas Shannon's nomination to the post of ambassador to Brazil. DeMint claims he's had a change of heart because Obama's administration has now said it will recognize Honduras's elections this year whether Zelaya is in office or not, a shift from its previous stance. If that's what DeMint wants to use as his window dressing, then I guess that's fine, but I'm still not buying it, especially since Obama's administration only announced that it would not recognize the elections back in September, which again doesn't really serve as an explanation as to the need to block the nominee from July (when Shannon was nominated) to September. Still, I guess if Jim DeMint wants to wage his battles on useless battlefields that are uninteresting to most of the electorate, that's his prerogative. Still, part of me deeply hopes that the Obama administration gets Shannon to his position, and then reverses its stance and doesn't acknowledge the elections of Honduras as legitimate due to their occurring during an illegal administration. Though I guess that would give DeMint another opportunity to grandstand and feel important, so maybe it's better the administration deny him that opportunity, and let him continue to be the little man Jim DeMint truly is.