Powell, Bush at odds on court case
January 20, 2003
US Secretary of State Colin Powell disagrees with President George W Bush's
position on an affirmative action case before the Supreme Court challenging
the consideration of race in admitting black and other minority applicants
to colleges.
Powell, one of two black members of Bush's Cabinet, said he supported
methods the University of Michigan used to bolster minority enrolments in
its undergraduate and law school programs. The policies offer points to
minority applicants and set goals for minority admissions.
Many colleges and universities use variations of the system, which is meant
to help minority applicants overcome the effects of generations of
legalised racial discrimination in America.
"Whereas I have expressed my support for the policies used by the
University of Michigan, the president, in looking at it, came to the
conclusion that it was constitutionally flawed, based on the legal advice
he received," Powell said on the CBS program Face the Nation.
It was a rare public acknowledgment of dissent with the president and with
other top White House aides.
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said she backed Bush's decision
to step into the case before the Supreme Court and to argue that the
University of Michigan's methods were unconstitutional.
She said on NBC's Meet the Press that there are "problems" with the
university's selection policies, and cited the points system.
But she also said race could be a factor in colleges' selection process.
The brief the Bush administration filed with the Supreme Court was silent
on that issue of whether race can be a factor under some circumstances.
"It is important to take race into consideration if you must, if
race-neutral means do not work," she said.
Rice said she had benefited from affirmative action during her career at
Stanford University.
"I think they saw a person that they thought had potential, and yes, I
think they were looking to diversify the faculty," she said.
"I think there's nothing wrong with that in the United States," Rice said.
"It does not mean that one has to go to people of lower quality. Race is a
factor in our society."
Education Secretary Rod Paige is the other black member of Bush's Cabinet.
Paige firmly agrees with Bush's stance, a spokesman said.
"Secretary Paige believes in equal opportunity for all students and he
fully supports President Bush's position on the University of Michigan
case," spokesman Dan Langan said.
In an unusual Sunday night announcement, the White House said Bush's Budget
proposal for the coming fiscal year would increase funding by five per cent
for grants to historically black colleges, universities, graduate programs
and Hispanic education institutions.
In its brief to the Supreme Court, the administration argued that policies
at the University of Michigan and its law school failed the constitutional
test of equal protection for all under the law, and ignored race-neutral
alternatives that could boost minority presence on campuses.
A White House spokesman declined to say why the black and Hispanic grant
programs were acceptable, when the University of Michigan admission system
was not.
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