Obama Nominates Robert Stephen Beecroft as Iraq Envoy

Obama Nominates Robert Stephen Beecroft as Iraq Envoy - NYTimes.com: "Mr. Beecroft is now the No. 2 American civilian official in Baghdad and therefore already set to run the embassy temporarily until the Senate votes on his confirmation. With the presidential election less than two months away, the White House calculated that a more political selection would be problematic.
Mr. Obama’s first nominee, Brett H. McGurk, withdrew his name in June after suggestive e-mail messages he sent while working in Baghdad to a reporter from The Wall Street Journal were posted on a Web site. Mr. McGurk had since married the reporter, but Democrats were unwilling to defend him because he previously worked for President George W. Bush."