Defining who's 'qualified' in a diverse nation

[Zafir]

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's backside must be scorching hot, as it has spent a good amount of time this week in the hot seat. Among the issues he's had to battle is the account of what he said at a November fundraiser in Nevada.

 

According to an opinion piece published in The Christian Science Monitor this week, when Romney was asked by a Muslim businessman if he would "consider including qualified Americans (emphasis mine) of the Islamic faith in his cabinet as advisers on national security matters, given his position that 'jihadism' is the principal foreign policy threat facing America today."

 

The businessman, American-born Mansoor Ijaz, wrote that Romney responded, "...based on the number of American Muslims [as a percentage] in our population, I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified." He continued that he'd consider Muslims as possibilities for "the lower levels" of his administration. Romney disputes this version of the events, and I'll get to that later. But first, let's take a look at this version of Romney's response. If we're to take it on face value, here's what we learn:

 

Here is where

[Cara.]

Haven't we had enough of the religious nut jobs?

[Zafir]

Take it easy bad girl, you're asking for too much!