What Is a 'Qualified' Female or Minority Supreme Court Justice?

I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the following words recently on Politico's Web site: "Should Obama feel obliged to appoint a qualified woman, African American or Hispanic to the Supreme Court? If so, why, and on what basis should he choose among these groups?"

Hmm. A "qualified" woman, African-American or Hispanic. My first thought? Hell no! Give me the most unqualified person to sit on the highest court in the land!

Yeah, right.

It's amazing that people feel the need to use the qualifier "qualified" when diversity is discussed. If you think about it, there never seem to be assumptions that white men are unqualified when they are being discussed. That simply is assumed and is inherent in their whiteness and maleness.

Sure, go ahead and say, "Man, you're being too sensitive!" But I do want you to think about this for a second. Why do we as a society feel the need to say it's important to have "qualified" women and minorities? Isn't that assumed?

I never have considered it a possibility that President Barack Obama will grab from a list of people who aren't capable of doing the job when he picks a Supreme Court justice. The thought never even enters my mind.

Part of the issue is that a lot of folks have bought into the notion that minorities get jobs based on skin color and that women are hired because of their gender. Therefore, these folks think, we better emphasize the need for "qualified" people. You ought to see some of the e-mails I've gotten from folks who think they are hurting my feelings by saying that I'm a "quota" or "affirmative action" hire and that I took the job of "a deserving white person." Oh, yeah, those are a part of the greatest hits in my inbox.

I recall a white female news director in Texas a few years ago who often reveled in her liberalness.

She would go on and on about being a white liberal but often would talk about how hard it was to find "qualified" minorities for jobs. Then I would look at some of the most incompetent white men and women who worked for her and say to myself, "I wonder whether they passed the 'qualified' test?"

Another time, I challenged a white male recruiter on the term "qualified" and what he meant by it, and he just said over and over, "You know, qualified." I kept pressing him on whether he asks the same question of someone white, and he couldn't answer.

Now, I'm sure the folks who despise affirmative action will quickly say, "See, if it weren't for affirmative action, no one would even use such terms!"

Yeah, right.

In the 17 years I've been a professional journalist, I've seen unqualified white men, white women and, yes, minorities hired and promoted, and affirmative action had nothing to do with it. People make hiring decisions based on the flimsiest of reasons, such as what schools the candidates went to (for example, assuming people from Ivy League schools are the best; no, some suck), whether the candidates know the right people, and the candidates' being so "articulate" that they were given a shot.

And yes, I've seen a host of qualified white men, white women, African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans hired for jobs, and they've done fantastic jobs. It wasn't race or gender that was the key; they simply had the skills to do the jobs.

It's time that we retire the word "qualified" when it comes to talking about women and minorities. Every job, regardless of whether a group is targeted, should be filled with a person with the right talents, smarts and energy to get the job done.

Hiring the best should automatically mean they are qualified. Period.

Roland S. Martin is an award-winning CNN contributor and the author of "Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith." Please visit his Web site at www.RolandSMartin.com. To find out more about Roland S. Martin and read his past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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