J-Street Founder gets plum posting

President Obama is nominating Alan D. Solomont, his fund-raising chief in New England, to be ambassador to Spain, the White House announced this evening.

If confirmed by the Senate, Solomont will step down from his business and philanthropic positions and head to Madrid to represent the interests of United States.

"I am honored to be nominated, and if confirmed, it will be a great privilege to serve," Solomont said in a brief interview.

The nomination continues Obama's pattern of rewarding major players in financing his campaign -- which broke every presidential fund-raising record in the book -- with plum diplomatic posts.

Solomont, a long-time Democratic money man, bundled at least $500,000 in contributions for Obama, and Solomont and his family gave nearly $230,000 themselves to candidates in the 2008 election cycle, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

Solomont is also a former finance chair for the DNC and one of the founders of the liberal Jewish lobbying outfit J-Street.

In that respect, J-Street can be seen as getting their reward too - to no one's surprise.

Hat Tip: Ed Lasky