Being amused by something in the news does not always mean that it is funny. I am often amused but saddened at the time. This was the case when I saw many Democrats rejoicing over the results of Senator Elizabeth Warren's DNA test like some type of great victory had been won. The sentiments expressed by many Democrats were something like, “See, Senator Warren was right! She is vindicated! Should President Trump pay up and donate $1 million to Senator Warren’s favorite charity? Will he?”

Uh, no. What the President said was campaign shenanigans not to be taken seriously. He was speaking about what he would offer if he and Senator Warren ever debated, which shows he considers her a possible threat. Though the DNA test showing there was a high probability that she had Native American ancestry generations ago was probably necessary for her presidential candidacy, it was not a major victory, and Senator Warren and the Democrats would be wise to let it go.

The fact is, Senator Warren was unwise to designate herself as a minority in a directory of the Association of American Law Schools based on family stories. Harvard was equally unwise to promote her as a minority in an effort to increase diversity. Even if the designation never helped her career, and all indications are that it did not, hearing family stories of her ancestry is much different than growing up in a situation in which a minority faces socioeconomic hardship and discrimination because of their background. Senator Warren’s family struggled to remain middle class because of unfortunate health issues that affected them economically and had nothing to do with ethnicity.

Her past claim of minority status is certainly not an issue about her fitness for office, but neither is it a strong point to be touted. Her DNA test results were not a victory, just a political necessity to avoid defeat. Big difference. The results should be dismissed, just as the million dollar bet offer.

However, I can’t help but think it will be a continued distraction should Senator Warren announce her candidacy for President. Democrats will extoll the DNA results and Republicans will disparage them. This is, after all, the political atmosphere that exists today, concerned more with shenanigans than substance.