U.S. Ambassador Mike Hammer on Cuba, 2016 and surviving Senate confirmation

Ambassador Mike Hammer, left, meets with Chilean officials. (Photo: Economy Ministry/Victor Ruiz Caballero)

U.S. Ambassador to Chile Mike Hammer is a widely respected career diplomat who has worked for presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. On Wednesday, Hammer told Yahoo News that Chileans watched the “very lively” first Republican debate and that he tries to “reassure folks” that despite candidates who say they will overturn President Obama’s policies on Day One in office, some aspects of U.S. foreign policy won’t change dramatically no matter who wins in November 2016.

In an interview with Yahoo News on SiriusXM radio, Hammer described a day in the life of an ambassador, offered tips on how to survive the frequently stressful Senate confirmation process, and said Latin Americans are welcoming the diplomatic thaw between the U.S. and Cuba.

The ambassador’s job requires many things: representing the U.S. at cultural events and athletic competitions, promoting American businesses, making Washington’s case to local leaders, reporting back to the State Department when events occur that might affect U.S. interests, and of course the consular work of caring for Americans who live in Chile or are just visiting.

“No two days are the same,” Hammer said.

But with the 2016 race heating up, Hammer has picked up another responsibility: explaining the frequently baffling U.S. system for picking the next president — the Iowa caucuses, the electoral college, etc.

“You end up talking much more about process than people, than candidates,” he said. “And you try to, of course, reassure folks, as we do, that when it comes to foreign policy, there may be differences but … while it may seem like there are huge differences, oftentimes you can see through that there’s a consistency in, obviously, what our interests are — and then the differences are in how we pursue them.”

With Secretary of State John Kerry due in Havana on Friday to formally reopen the U.S. embassy there, Hammer said the diplomats he meets in Santiago have welcomed Obama’s outreach to Cuba.

“I hear it from the fellow ambassadors from all the countries in the region. Every single one of them has either come up to me or said, ‘Look, kudos to you for the change in policy.’ It’s important,” Hammer said. “It wasn’t necessarily an impediment to the things we were trying to do, but it was something that people just couldn’t really quite understand.”

Hammer’s nomination wasn’t controversial, but it still took the Senate from June 2013 to March 2014 to confirm him. The diplomat, whom lawmakers approved unanimously, shared his tips for surviving the stress and strain of the confirmation process.

“Do lots of exercise to keep your body in shape and your mind sane,” he said. “It is very hard not only on the individual, on me, but the family. Your kid is in school and not knowing if you’re going to move or not, if it’s going to happen or not. Your family wonders whether you’ve done something wrong, why aren’t you getting confirmed and why haven’t you left. Your neighbors wonder. So it’s a very uncomfortable situation.”