Former Politico staffer Mike Allen published a leaked list of what he says are the names of individuals who were being considered for Hillary Clinton Cabinet jobs.

Nobody knows if the list is accurate or genuine, but Allen is well connected, and many assume it is. For the purpose of the Ethics Quiz, we will also assume the list is authentic, but whether it is or not doesn’t matter regarding the ethical principles involved. Here is the list:

No, the quiz query does not involve The Horror of John Podesta for Secretary of State. Note rather the 11th bullet point: “EPA: likely an African-American (and/or at Education).”

Your Ethics Alarms Ethics Quiz of the Day is this:

Is it ethical to make race the primary qualification for a Cabinet post?

Unlike many Ethics Quizzes, I ask this knowing my answer well, and feeling that it is nearly unshakable: No. It isn’t ethical. The duty of a President is to choose the most qualified candidate for any job, and to believe that the individual’s performance will best serve the nation. Is seeking a Cabinet that appears diverse a legitimate and worthy goal? Absolutely. Is it so important that it justifies quotas? No, never. Clinton’s list exemplifies what is so repugnant about the obsession with group identification in some ideological corners.

I am interested in other views.

As an aside, it appears that those ideological corners themselves are uncomfortable with the naked color-preference expressed by the “Ghost Cabinet” list. Only one liberal-minded publication (that I could find) has reported on the list, and that one, Slate, conveniently ignored the EPA entry. All the other publications and websites that revealed the list hailed from the Right, which, of course, jumped on the “likely an African-American” description.

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Sources: Washington Examiner, Heat Street