Richard Kahlenberg on the University of Texas’ admissions policy:
For 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.”
