The Affirmative Action Trap

The American Prospect

Obama is weighing in on the University of Texas's affirmative action policy, but it may be politically dangerous for him to do so.
Richard D. Kahlenberg April 2, 2010

a Democratic administration to support racial affirmative action -- as the Obama administration is doing in a contentious lawsuit challenging the University of Texas at Austin's racial-preference admissions policy -- may seem natural and predictable. The administration filed an amicus brief with the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, siding with the university in a lawsuit filed by two white students. But given President Barack Obama's past rhetoric on the issue, the decision to enter the fray is somewhat surprising -- and fraught with political danger.
As a candidate, Obama sent mixed signals on affirmative action, sometimes suggesting support for the policy and other times suggesting that he was willing to place a greater emphasis on helping economically disadvantaged students of all races. When asked by ABC's George Stephanopoulos whether Obama's own daughters deserved affirmative action in college admissions, Obama replied that no, his daughters should "be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged," and said furthermore that "we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged and have grown up in poverty and shown themselves to have what it takes to succeed."
Likewise, in his legendary speech on race in Philadelphia, Obama acknowledged the history of discrimination in this country that undergirds the moral argument for affirmative-action plans but added that working- and middle-class whites might resent them. Obama declared that the resentments are not "misguided or even racist" but rather are "grounded in legitimate concerns." More recently, as president, when he was pressed to take action to address high rates of black unemployment, Obama responded, "I can't pass laws that say I'm just helping black folks. I'm the president of the United States. What I can do is make sure that I am passing laws that help all people, particularly those who are most vulnerable and most in need. That in turn is going to help lift up the African American community."
What's striking is that Obama's stated goal -- we should help disadvantaged people of all races -- is precisely for what the plaintiffs in the University of Texas case are arguing and what the Obama administration has now sided against.

Full Commentary: http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_affirmative_action_trap