Are Quotas Really The Problem?

In the rhetorical quagmire of the racial-quota debate, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that virtually all Americans abhor brazen racial favoritism. Blacks, whites, Democrats and Republicans alike passionately believe in the meritocracy, but radically disagree on whether we are becoming one.

Most nonwhite Americans know, deep in their bones, that the deck is unfairly stacked against them, while most whites know, with absolute certainty, that such is profoundly untrue, or at least that whatever discrimination exists is, - for the most part, justified. That difference in perspective will endure long after the House-passed civil rights legislation is killed,...