Shedding Luce

Brad finds it impossible to disagree with Ed Luce.

I find it possible to disagree with Luce.  He writes "AIDS and other diseases" and "fashionable diseases."  Kim's major accomplishment came in fighting TB not AIDS.  I guess TB is a bit fashionable (the Gates's are interested).  Fighting TB is also very hard as half therapy is much worse than none, because it selects drug resistant TB.  Kim is alleged to have managed to arrange directly observed therapy (making sure people take all the pills) in the third world.

Of course Okonjo-Iweala also has huge extraordinary accomplishments.  Such as ... ?  Luce doesn't mention any.  He notes that she is now powerful and has already held a top position at the World Bank.  Favoring insiders sure doesn't sound "meritocratic" to me.  Others have noted that Okonjo-Iweala is very smart.  Luce doesn't seem to consider that relevant.

It seems to me that Luce decided that Kim is the wrong choice strictly because of his nationality.

I stress that I don't necessarily disagree with Luce's conclusion, nor do I think his reasoning is unsound.  I don't see any reasoning at all.