Some minorities do have best and brightest.
Just not the ones that get affirmative action.
You’ve hit on it - the ones that are often “lacking” are the ones you don’t want because they AREN’T the best and brightest.
Asians, Indians, etc - those have the best and brightest, but the left doesn’t want them BECAUSE they are the best and brightest.
I’d guess that the test has been considerably dumbed down since the days Bill Casey was in office and I took the exam. But given the choice between, say, working in the Holder-Lynch justice department where they are going to have power over others and an intelligence agency where they might actually have to produce real results, what are most of them going to pick?