His expertise IS the disqualifying factor

Michael Grunwald does a pretty good summary of our Serious Times.

Until yesterday, my favorite symbolic moment of the Obama era was the rejoicing of the right after the President’s hometown failed to land the 2016 Olympics. Because any bad news for Obama is by definition good for America, even if it happens to involve bad news for America. But now I have a new favorite: the defeat of Peter Diamond’s nomination to the Federal Reserve Board after Republicans declared him “unqualified.” What makes this so perfect is not just Diamond’s status a Nobel Laureate economist, but his specific expertise in unemployment and the labor market. Because anyone who understands unemployment and the labor market is by definition unqualified to participate in economic policy.