Valletta, Malta, Jun 1, 2011 / 00:25 am
Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Malta Doug Kmiec has reiterated his support for President Obama and said he will almost certainly endorse him again in the 2012 presidential election.
Kmiec told the Sunday Times of Malta that there is a “98 percent chance” that he will endorse the president, adding “I think that the president is doing a great job.”
“He’s someone who has made good on his principal promises against substantial headwinds,” he said. Kmiec cited the president’s response to economic troubles, the extension of health insurance coverage and his work in international affairs.
Kmiec, a law professor at Pepperdine University School of Law and a former official in the Reagan administration, endorsed President Obama in the 2008 election in an effort to win over some Catholic and conservative votes.
He resigned as ambassador after the State department criticized him for neglecting his duties in Malta and spending too much time writing.
He said that the State Department never really understood his mandate to promote interfaith dialogue in Malta given to him by President Obama.
While some reports said Kmiec faced rebuke for speaking about subjects like abortion and his religious beliefs, the official report did not cite any particular comments.
The outgoing ambassador also revealed that his fatal car accident in California in August 2010 was caused when he fainted because of medication he takes for Parkinson’s disease. The accident killed two of his friends, a priest and a nun.
Kmiec’s last day as U.S. Ambassador to Malta was May 31.