WHEN A MAN JUST ISN'T THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB.

Ezra really boils down the debate over race, gender, and the Court:

[The Supreme Court] is responsible for a country that's 51 percent female and whose law graduates are 48 percent female. Its highest profile cases revolve exclusively around things that happen in a woman's body. If we were aware of those facts and were stocking the Court from scratch, there is no doubt that we would strive for more gender balance.

Viewed from that perspective, the situation clarifies considerably. The reason white men are disadvantaged in this nomination process is pretty simple: They are not, right now, what the Court needs. They are not the best candidates for the job.

--Dana Goldstein