EW

There's been a small to-do over whether or not Elizabeth Warren was truthful in identifying herself as part (1/32) native American to further her academic career.  I really don't care--it's a minor issue in an election about far more important things.

More troublesome is the spectacle, which has apparently become the norm, of putting Warren's blood on a slide and checking it with a microscope to help determine if she should get a job.



PS.  Michael Barone, writing about the controversy, states:

The strongest argument for this is not that some whites (and Asians) get passed over; these individuals will probably do fine nonetheless. The strongest argument against the system is that it casts a pall of illegitimacy over the genuine achievements of the intended beneficiaries.

Wrong.  As I've noted before, the argument that affirmative action casts a pall of illegitimacy on genuine achievement of the intended beneficiaries is the worst argument of all.  Because if you're so concerned about helping these people, how do you respond when they say "yes, we recognize affirmative action may cause this problem, but all in all, we'd still rather have it, so thanks, but no thanks"?

I might add Barone's blithe assurance that denying positions to some groups because they'll do fine anyway is kind of distressing.