What makes the Editor of Vogue qualified to be the Ambassador? Hundreds of thousands of dollars, to start. President Barack Obama is reportedly considering appointing Vogue Editor-in-chief Anna Wintour as the US Ambassador to either Great Britain or France, according to ABC News.

Wintour, who was born in England, was a major fundraiser for the President during the campaign, hosting multiple fundraising events. She’s considered a “bundler,” an individual who uses their connections to raise huge sums of money for a candidate.

Wintour has been a longtime Obama fundraiser. She raised between $100,000 and $200,000 from her friends for his 2008 run for the presidency, and this time raised at least a half of a million dollars for the re-election bid, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Telecoms executive Thomas Gips was named ambassador to South Africa after bundling money in 2008. OpenSecrets has a big list of other donors/bundlers who got ambassadorships in 2009. This isn’t the ambassadorship to China, Iraq, Libya or any sort of country where diplomatic relations requires training.

Rewarding high profile donors with these positions is a classic way to reward well connected supporters. Indeed, a lot of the skills needed to raise that kind of scratch — graciousness, charisma, and personality — are the exact kind of skills needed to serve as Ambassador to a friendly nation.

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