Bush labels Affirmative Action “a quota.”

The expression “out of the mouths of babes” does not apply to the man often considered to be the most powerful man in the world. Christopher Edley Jr., a professor at Harvard Law School and co-director of the Harvard Civil Rights Project claims this is an act which “seeks to inflame and distort rather than sticking to the facts." Dr. Edley states that the president is hurting the national debate on affirmative action.

Affirmative Action is “positive steps to enhance the diversity of some group, often to remedy the cumulative effect of subtle as well as gross expressions of prejudice. When numerical goals are set, they are set according to the group's representation in the applicant pool rather than the group's representation in the general population.” There has been a trend, by some school systems, to request the courts to remove orders of desegregation. Should this happen we could have resegregation on both the upper and lower school levels. Let us not forget, although educational opportunities should be the main impetus for affirmative action and desegregation, another major impact of these laws is the opportunity for diversity. Going backwards is just that “backwards.”

Read how Condoleezza Rice helped persuade President Bush to enter a friend of the court brief urging the court to strike down Michigan's affirmative action program.