Among those feeding speculation that former U.S. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd is being considered as American ambassador to Cuba is Mr. Dodd’s former chief of staff, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven.
“I don’t know about his interest but he would be a great fit for that job,” Ms. DeLauro said recently.
President Obama is restoring normal diplomatic relations with Cuba, something that should have been done long ago. The governments in Washington, D.C. and Havana recently announced that embassies will be reopened.
When it comes time to pick a U.S. ambassador to Cuba, Mr. Dodd would indeed be “a great fit.”
Mr. Dodd, who now heads the Motion Picture Association of America, had a career-long interest in South America, Central America and the Caribbean, informed by his service on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He is also a fluent Spanish speaker from his days in the Dominican Republic as a Peace Corps volunteer. He knows the neighborhood.
But whether he would return to it may be a long shot. He hasn’t publicly sought the post, and it’s not clear if he is ready to take the pay cut. And, many in the Republican-dominated Senate are not keen on rapprochement with Cuba, and may refuse to confirm any ambassador — let alone one who once served as general chairman of the Democratic Party.
Still, he’d be a good fit.
