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this article is being assigned as homework in high schools by leftist teachers. here are the questions the students are told to answer:

1. Define: Cabinet, retro, secretary of state, Treasury secretary, chief of staff, tableau, establishment, quota, chromosome, byline

2. What Cabinet positions are most important, according to Ruth Marcus? Why do you think this is?

3. To what extent is picking a Cabinet about picking the people who will do the best job? To what extent is it about presenting the right “face of power”?

4. Why is public perception an important factor in choosing Cabinet members? What perception does Marcus think a mostly white, male cabinet will create?

5. What happens if people don’t think the government represents their interests? What are some ways governments try to win people’s loyalty?

6. Are Americans’ interests based on their race or gender? Do they think they need someone of their own race or gender to represent them? Explain.

7. What does Marcus mean when she says nomination of women cabinet members could have come about “organically”? Does she think Obama should have deliberately made sure to pick enough women and minorities, or not? Would these nominations have come about organically if he had done so? Explain.

8. Why does Marcus think “there is something distasteful and fundamentally demeaning about judging a Cabinet solely by the color of its skin or the composition of its chromosomes.” Does she think Cabinets should be judged partly by these criteria? Explain.

9. “[A]n opinion page with only white-guy columnists…would be lacking in the most important diversity: of viewpoints and experiences.” Do white guys all have the same viewpoints and experiences? Are there black and white or male and female views on issues? If so, what are they?
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