Boy, this had to be an uncomfortable moment.
Prominent Missouri businessman and Republican financier Sam Fox, accompanied by heavyweight backers, expected smooth sailing in the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee Tuesday on his way to confirmation as ambassador to Belgium.
He didn't get it.
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., broadsided Fox, criticizing his 2004 donation to the anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and questioning Fox's credentials for the job.
"You saw fit to put $50,000 on the line to continue the smear, my question to you is: Why?" Kerry said.
Fox's answer wasn't particularly forceful.
Fox, 77, said he couldn't recall who had asked for the contribution and counted it among thousands of contributions he makes yearly. "When I'm asked, I just generally give," Fox said.
Frankly, that's a bit sad.
One can surely understand Kerry's pique. On the other hand, Fox didn't totally deserve the 30-minute grilling: he was a Republican ATM, not a prime mover behind the Swiftboaters. And his confirmation does not appear to be in jeopardy.
But it does show that there is a price to be paid for personal politics.
Kerry, politics, midtopia
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