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Posted on 01/17/2003 2:50:33 PM PST by RCW2001
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice took a rare central role in a domestic debate within the White House and helped persuade President Bush to publicly condemn race-conscious admissions policies at the University of Michigan, administration officials said yesterday.
Your sentiments(which I share) contrast sharply with other posters who seem to think she (and Bush) have betrayed the conservative cause.
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Okay, now before you go running off half-cocked, that's not what she said.
This story was taken from a story written by Ron Fournier. That should tell you something. Even so, if you look at the story, you find that Rice objected to Michigan's bogus point system and agreed with the President that the Wolverines were out of line. She is simply saying that in the real world, race can be considered, but not as a deciding factor.
Look at her record at Stanford. She considered qualifications (did you get your Ph.D at Chicago or at the Univeristy of Grand Cayman...), publishing performance, teaching performance, etc., primarily when doing hiring. Race was not a primary consideration to her when hiring faculty, so I think her record is on solid ground.
Except for hiring the football coach. She forbade the coach from running the Wishbone because Stanford didn't have the bodies to do it.
She is on record as being opposed to quotas, but that does not mean that one cannot consider the race of an individual as a factor. In the real world, that's part of what happens. That's unfair? Yes. Suppose a college believes that it needs more minority enrollment. It can go out and hunt for more black, Hispanic, and Asian students. That's the right of the college. What Bush is trying to do, and I believe that Rice agrees with him on this, is to put the nail in the coffin of the quota system.
BTW, I have a reason as to why the brief was narrowly written. DO NOT try to get out in front of the SCOTUS, especially when Scalia will run riot all over the courtroom, spanking Michigan's Lawyers so hard they'll curse their mother's for having given them birth. If Bush writes it narrow, and the Court goes Broad, Bush wins. If Bush goes broad and the Court writes a narrow opinion, the Chattering Classes write that SCOTUS smacked down Bush.
Bush has positioned himself nicely by tackling Michigan's methods, not opening a broad front against AA altogether. Salami tactics, people, salami tactics.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 17, 2003
Statement by the National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice
When the President decided to submit an amicus brief, he asked for my view on how diversity can be best achieved on university campuses. I offered my view, drawing on my experience in academia and as provost of a major university. I agree with the President's position, which emphasizes the need for diversity and recognizes the continued legacy of racial prejudice, and the need to fight it. The President challenged universities to develop ways to diversify their populations fully. I believe that while race neutral means are preferable, it is appropriate to use race as one factor among others in achieving a diverse student body.
# # #
But none of this is based upon race. Don't you see the difference?
This is disagreeing with the Prez in the most gentle way possible.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3752-2003Jan16.html
Rice Helped Shape Bush Decision on Admissions
By Mike Allen and Charles Lane Washington Post Staff Writers
Friday, January 17, 2003; Page A01
National security adviser Condoleezza Rice took a rare central role in a domestic debate within the White House and helped persuade President Bush to publicly condemn race-conscious admissions policies at the University of Michigan, administration officials said yesterday.
The officials said Rice, in a series of lengthy one-on-one meetings with Bush, drew on her experience as provost at Stanford University to help convince him that favoring minorities was not an effective way of improving diversity on college campuses.
Rice, the first female national security adviser, told Bush that she worked to increase the number of African American faculty members at Stanford but that she was "absolutely opposed to quotas," a senior administration official said. A Stanford official said that under Rice, who served from 1993 to 1999 and was the university's first nonwhite provost, the number of black faculty members increased from 36 to 44.
Officials described Rice as one of the prime movers behind Bush's announcement on Wednesday that he would urge the Supreme Court to strike down Michigan's affirmative action program.
I don't think this bashes Bush at all. I applaude his statement in general, though I do not like his embrace of 'diversity'. Why do you think this is a Bush-basher article?
Royal Marshall (sitting in for Bortz today) pointed out quite rightly that the top university has a right to set their qualifying standards as they see fit and that the students accepted should still have to make the grades rather than be handed an empty diploma. (He dodged the issue of athletes being handed entry and four years of support without having to actually maintain grades, BTW. He was very articulate and entertaining today.) I would think that by the time students are applying to enter the Law School or Med School, merit alone should prevail. Setting quotas based on race, when the upper level Schools are applied to is a sure-fire way to lower the quality of the Schools, much less the professions.
Yeah, but of course.
However, I predict that the outcome of this case will apply to broad college admissions, once the Court has ruled.
Colleges have a right to set policy, but the balance that must be struck is that of the Equal Protection clause, iirc.
Condi was saying that race can be a consideration. What has occured, however, is that race has metastasized into a primary consideration, thus, left out Whites and Asians.
Now then, if the Whites and the Asians don't make the grade, then your point is valid to the degree of being axiomatic.
Be Seeing You,
Chris
They (among ever other news source) do this with Powell all the time. But I have a feeling if it was Powell who had made a public statement in disagreement with the President that a good many Republicans/Conservatives would be asking for his resignation. Wonder if we'll see the same with Rice.
"it is appropriate to use race as one factor among others in achieving a diverse student body."
Saying there were circumstances"in which it is necessary to consider race as a factor among many factors"
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This is just yer typical Democrat reporter playing "gotcha" with Bush. It wouldn't surprise me if Rice herself lets it be known that this story is not be believed as written.