Minority qualifications

Let me see if I have this right. Liberals and Democrats are upset about the nomination of Gonzales and Rice because they are jealous they didn't think to nominate them first? This in turn makes Democrats so upset that they are actually going to take the time to question their credentials when they come up for confirmation? Those mean spirited Democrats, can't they see that Alberto and Condi are qualified because they are minorities?

Give President Bush credit for breaking barriers that his Democratic predecessor never got around to breaking.

Just don't try telling that to white liberals who are thrilled with the idea of minorities doing well - as long as they can claim credit. If they can't, or if the minorities happen to be conservative, things can get messy.

The American people are about to get a sense of just how messy now that Mr. Bush has nominated Alberto Gonzales to head the Justice Department and Condoleezza Rice to run the State Department.

It's going to "get messy" because one nominee arguably lied under oath to the 9/11 commission while the other argued that the Geneva conventions were "quaint" and "outdated" among other things.

Besides, isn't always the Republicans that say we should look at a person's qualifications and not the color of their skin? So isn't it a bit disingenuous to argue this way?

Look, if Bush had two minority nominees that didn't have all this baggage, there probably wouldn't be as much of a problem. And odds are they are going to be confirmed anyway. These two nominees, however, have shown some poor judgment when it comes to defending the law and the land of America. That is not a quality you reward with a promotion, no matter what race of ethnicity you happen to fall under.