Best qualified to me means exactly that, no strings attached. I do not care what ethinicity, country of origin, gender or religion the best qualified comes from. I believe having schools and workplaces be selective based on population is a form of law based discrimination. Just because it is made legal, does not make it moral. With affirmative action, you are affirming that differences do exist. How can we live towards the goal of equality if we seperate people?
"Discrimination will only end when we do away with laws that legalize it."
And just so orpheus knows, I am not a right winger. Also, I am a student of politics and economics. I got my B.A. at UC Santa Cruz.