"Best man for the job"

[James A. Landau]

My daughter helped judge a high school Academic Team tournament.  One
question was to name the first female Cabinet member.  She says it doesn't bother her
that nobody got Frances Perkins (Secretary of Labor under FDR), but why did
every single team come up with Condaleeza Rice?  Didn't Albright and Reno make
any impression on today's high school students?

Which leads to a question:  was the saying "She's the best man for the job"
invented for Perkins (by FDR?), or was it already in existence when FDR
nominated Perkins?

OT:  Front page of today's Wall Street Journal has an whazzat headline: "Rice
arrives in China".  There is hope; the Republicans and the Democrats agree on
one thing, namely that we do not need a white male as Secretary of State.

      - Jim Landau