It's like a job interview when you already know a well-qualified candidate. You just can't pick her, just in case something goes wrong and someone asks later "didn't you at least interview?" So you cast a wide net, interview all the other contenders, but no one is surprised with the final pick is someone obviously qualified who was known from the beginning. The process was still necessary, on the slim chance you do end up with something unexpected, and to cover your backside a bit, but Sally from accounting was the right choice all along.

This is why it's not surprising to me the process is taking so long, even if we're a top contender. It's corporate America doing its diligence so no one can criticize the choice later. Frankly the LGBT letter may prove to be one of the things that an extended process like this was intended to allow to surface and be dealt with.