Previously, Contrarian's curmudgeonly friend, who happens to be an aging white man, commented sardonically on all the factors besides talent that Stephen McNeil would have to weigh in selecting a cabinet. Contrarian, who is likewise aging and white [see illustration at right], allowed himself to fantasize about a cabinet chosen solely on the basis of ability. One Contrarian reader took this as a prescription for a cabinet of old white men, to which I replied, "Seriously? Aren’t we past the day when aging white men with old ideas are the only people thought to have talent?" Contrarian reader Jesse Gainer writes: I'm rather shocked you find...

23 October, 2013