From the ABC
US ambassador's appointment on hold
By US correspondent Michael Rowland

The nomination of Robert McCallum as the new US ambassador to Australia has been put on hold in the face of opposition from within the US Senate.

The deputy Democrat leader in the US Senate, Dick Durbin, has concerns about Mr McCallum's activities in the US Justice Department.

Senator Durbin has written to President George W Bush to express his concern about sending Mr McCallum to Australia while he is the subject of an ethics investigation by the Justice Department.

The inquiry is examining whether Mr McCallum improperly influenced a US Government law suit against big tobacco manufacturers when he was associate attorney-general.

Last year the amount of damages being sought by the Government suddenly dropped from $US130 billion to $US10 billion.

Mr McCallum, a former tobacco industry lawyer, has denied exerting any improper influence on the case.

Senator Durbin's action effectively places Mr McCallum's nomination as ambassador on hold.

read more at the ABC

Yes Gus …. 

I mentioned the tobacco industry connection of junior’s pal,
amongst other things, in my blog the bonesman cometh
last month. 

Seems like the wheels are coming off the bushevik express
everywhere .....

Johnnie will be disappointed, as McCallum would have fitted right in with our local political culture .... AWB etc

Given we've gotten by for more than a year without a US representative at ambassador level, maybe we should make it a permanent arrangement?