Committee member: We should not vote to put at the top of the military's chain of command an individual whose history...

Ravi August 20, 2019

@Julie-V,

Let's look at (C) and (D).

(C) says, "Whoever leads an organization must be qualified to hold
each important job in the organization."

This is a tempting answer choice. However, (C) misses the whole point
of the principle. The issue wasn't that the person wasn't qualified;
rather, the issue was that the person would be barred from performing
certain tasks because they're a heavy drinker. There is a difference
between not being barred for something and being qualified for
something. The argument isn't stating that you have to be qualified
for everything to be the leader; rather, it's saying that if you're
barred from one or more important positions, you shouldn't be in
charge. This is why (C) is out.

(D) says, "No one who drinks excessively should hold a leadership
position anywhere along the military's chain of command."

The committee member makes a claim about someone who should not be
voted as the leader of the whole military. The problem with (D) is
that it's too broad of a principle for the argument in the stimulus,
and it misses the committee member's principle about being prohibited
from performing certain types of tasks. It's true that (D) would
strengthen the committee member's conclusion, but the problem is that
it misses the principle of the argument in the stimulus. We need the
correct answer choice to both strengthen and match the general
principle of the argument. This is why we can get rid of (D).

Does this make sense? Let us know if you have any other questions!