March 28 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush today withdrew the ambassadorial nomination of a Missouri business executive who donated $50,000 to a political group that questioned the war service of Senator John Kerry, Bush's opponent in the 2004 presidential election.

The decision to drop the selection of Sam Fox, chairman and chief executive of the St. Louis-based equity management company Harbour Group Ltd., as ambassador to Belgium came as Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were lining up against the nomination.

``We received word that because of politics some members of the Senate were going to vote against'' Fox, administration spokeswoman Dana Perino said.

Fox was Bush's campaign chief in Missouri in 2004 and was listed as a ``Ranger'' by the president's re-election campaign, meaning he raised at least $200,000. He also donated $50,000 to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a political group that produced and ran advertising questioning Kerry's war record in Vietnam.

Kerry, who earned a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts as a Navy officer in Vietnam, said Bush made the right decision to withdraw Fox's nomination.

`Politics of Personal Destruction'

``Sam Fox had every opportunity to disavow the politics of personal destruction and to embrace the truth,'' Kerry said in a statement. ``He chose not to.''

The nomination would have been rejected by the committee if it had been brought to a vote, Perino said at a briefing, reflecting a political assessment at the White House.

Asked if Bush was aware of Fox's $50,000 contribution, she said, ``I don't believe so. I know that the president didn't when he nominated him.''

Fox told Kerry at Feb. 27 hearing on the nomination that he didn't know the content of the advertising campaign when he donated the money. ``Senator, when I'm asked, I just generally give,'' Fox said, according to a transcript of the hearing.

Kerry lobbied other Democrats, who hold the majority in the Senate, to vote against Fox. Democratic Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, another member of the Foreign Relations panel, said Fox's donation to the Swift Boat group ``convinced me that he would not be an acceptable candidate to represent the United States abroad.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Sobczyk in Washington at jsobczyk@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 28, 2007 14:20 EDT