Just Asking....

Why was Dennis Ross's appointment as U.S. envoy announced not at a formal event but in a statement from the acting state department press secretary? Since Ross's portfolio includes Iran, more ceremony would have been expected, no? And why the long delay between the leak of the pending appointment and the appointment itself? Are the various State envoys experiencing envy about each other's portfolio?

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2009/02/just-asking/940/