Process of Elimination

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The N.A.A.C.P.'s search for a new executive director was a bureaucratic nightmare, complete with name calling and last-minute power plays. The culmination came when the Rev. Jesse Jackson, best known among four final candidates for the post, withdrew his name from consideration. The final selection, made Friday, was almost anticlimactic: the Rev. Benjamin Chavis, an official with the United Church of Christ and a civil rights activist. Relatively speaking, getting the job was the easy part. Chavis' true challenge will be to restore the N.A.A.C.P. to its former glory.