On CNN, last night, I asked Joan Walsh whether she would rather live in Norway or Haiti? The answer is obvious, but she refused to answer, saying that she had never been to either country and it was none of my business. People have pointed out, including the anchor Erin Burnett in real time, that my question doesn’t get to the real issue, which is whether people from both those countries can make good immigrants, not whether Americans would want to live in either place. Fair enough. But the reason I asked is if you are making a highly reductive argument that acknowledging any distinction between Norway and Haiti in Norway’s favor is tantamount to racism, you can’t even say where you’d prefer to live. And that is exactly why Walsh couldn’t answer.