Don't get me wrong, I'm glad to see women, African-Americans, and Latinos getting such high exposure in the Bush administration (heck, we may even have a "gay" taking over the top RNC job). In fact, Bush's first three new Cabinet appointees have been two Latinos and a black woman. Kudos to Bush. The only thing is that I have a nagging feeling that Bush is practicing a little affirmative action in an effort to woo minority votes away from the Dems. That doesn't mean the 3 candidates aren't qualified (well, Albert "Abu Ghraib" Gonzales has some issues). The issue, rather, is that it's fair to wonder if Bush is favoring minority candidates for these first few high profile jobs, simply as a pulicit-getting vote-getting gambit. That would be rather hypocritical, to say the least, coming from a party and a president that has tried to dismantle affirmative action, while blasting Dems for race-baiting, etc.
But it is funny to watch Republicans embrace their minority nominees, touting their minority-ness in public like a new and mystical flavor of Ben & Jerry's ice cream that's sure to wow the public. The problem is that the Republicans are offering a flavor that Democrats embraced decades ago. It's not so wow or cool or novel anymore to appoint a Latino, an African-American or a woman to a high administration position. And the fact that the Republicans think so, and trumpet it so loudly, is only more evidence of how much they don't get it. Simply appointing a black man to a senior administration position, or a Latino or a woman does not prove that you "get" the issues that matter most to that community. And for the Republicans to think it does is tokenism of the worst kind.
