| Bush Taps Wilkins for Ambassador of Canada |
| COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - House Speaker David
Wilkins has been selected by President Bush to be the new ambassador
to Canada, the White House announced Wednesday night. Wilkins would replace Paul Cellucci, who left the post last month. As ambassador, Wilkins would have a plum diplomatic post with the United States' largest trading partner and a job that offers political and professional dividends. "I'm obviously thrilled and very thankful of the President's confidence," Wilkins said. Wilkins should keep the speaker's gavel through the end of the legislative session June 2. It usually takes two to four months for background checks and to prepare presidential nominees for ambassadorships for confirmation hearings before the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, which handles ambassadorships. Wilkins said his 25 years in the House "truly has been a labor of love," but he is now ready to serve the president. Canada will be new territory for Wilkins. His first and only trip there was in the 1970s when he was in the U.S. Army reserves. Wilkins also doesn't speak French, although he did take three years of the language in college. Wilkins said his wife and children are excited about the move. And when news of the announcement came on the White House's Web site, his chief of staff cheered. Bush's nominee for ambassador to the United Nations, John R. Bolton, has run into problems in the Senate Foreign relations committee. But Wilkins does not appear headed down that path. Last week, U.S. Sen. Joseph Biden, the ranking Democrat on that committee, said Wilkins should not have problems in the confirmation process were Bush to nominate him. "I expect he'd receive a pretty good reception," Biden said. "He is known as an honorable man and he's known as a man of integrity. ... I'd vote aye." Cellucci is leaving the post in Canada to becomes executive vice president of corporate development with Magna Entertainment Corp., which owns and operates horse racetracks. Speculation has come and gone for four years about Wilkins. He twice headed South Carolina campaign efforts for President Bush and helped raised enough cash to join the ranks of Bush's Rangers. He also helped the first President Bush's presidential campaigns. The Greenville lawyer was offered a federal district judgeship in January 2001 by the late Sen. Strom Thurmond. Bush later that year wanted him as ambassador to Chile. Both times, he said he wanted to finish the legislative session that included establishing a state-run lottery and redrawing election districts. Expectations ran high last week that Bush would tap Wilkins during a visit to the Statehouse to stump for an overhaul of Social Security. But Bush came and went with no announcement. That didn't stop Republican leaders from quietly campaigning for the speaker's job. The race to replace Wilkins has come down to three candidates: House Speaker Pro Tem Doug Smith, R-Spartanburg; House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston; and House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. Jim Harrison, R-Columbia. Wilkins' colleagues waited all day for the announcement. The House even ran out of bills to consider as they waited to hear from the speaker. "His 11 years of leadership in the South Carolina House will be remembered for the relentless pursuit of a conservative agenda, overwhelming supported by the state," said House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Daniel Island. Gov. Mark Sanford said Wilkins had been a tremendous leader, singling out his efforts to attract new businesses to South Carolina. "He's a real credit to South Carolina and I've got every confidence that he'll be a credit to our nation in this new role," Sanford said. Wilkins entered the South Carolina House in 1981, steadily rising through the ranks. He became speaker when the Republicans took over the House in 1994. Wilkins is a 1968 Clemson University graduate and earned his law degree from the University of South Carolina in 1971. He was a first lieutenant in the Army Reserve for four years ending in 1975. Wilkins' brother, William, was the first U.S. district judge President Ronald Reagan appointed in 1981. Since June 1986, he has served on the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va. |