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CNN Live At Daybreak

Political Landscape of Affirmative Action Case

Aired January 16, 2003 - 06:34   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration says it will file a motion with the Supreme Court today challenging the University of Michigan's admissions policy. The White House says Michigan's use of race as a factor in admissions to the law school there amounts to a quota system, and that, says Mr. Bush, is unfair and unconstitutional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I strongly support diversity of all kinds, including racial diversity in higher education, but the method used by the University of Michigan to achieve this important goal is fundamentally flawed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And we've got a rare treat this morning. Our political guru, Bill Schneider, is here in Atlanta. So, we're going to talk to him of this scorching political hot potato.

Why did President Bush choose to get involved in this? He didn't have to.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he was under a lot of pressure to say where the administration would come out on this issue. After the Trent Lott episode last month, the administration had said, it still says, it wants an outreach to minorities, it's going to be inclusive, and it wants to change the civil rights profile of the Bush administration.

So, therefore, minorities and their advocates were saying, OK, where do you stand on this, the most dramatic affirmative action case in decades?

COSTELLO: So, minority groups have already come out not liking President Bush's comments, so how was this helping him with minorities?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's the problem, because he was also under pressure from the conservatives to take a strong stand on principle that using race as a preference factor in admissions decisions is unconstitutional. He, in the end, came down with the conservatives, but he tried to make a distinction between preferences and outreach. He said, preferences, no; outreach, yes. He's trying to make that argument and hoping that minorities will get the point that it is all right to help disadvantaged groups compete, but it is not all right to make exceptions and give them a different set of standards for competition... (CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Does he need to do more to get that message out?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, he needs to do a great deal more, because there are different understandings of affirmative action. I fear that what's going to happen is it's going to be promoted today in the newspapers and in the press, President opposes affirmative action. And that's not going to sit well with a lot of voters, and not just minority voters, because most voters understand that affirmative action is outreach. What the president has to say is, if that's what it is, I support it. That's what he said yesterday. But then he's got to add, but if it means quotas and preferences, no, that's where I draw the line.

COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to ask you a question about Trent Lott, because he sat down on BET and said, you know, I believe in affirmative action, and I'm going to get into the fire. So, where is Trent Lott during all of this, and will he come out and say anything?

SCHNEIDER: I don't think he'll say very much of anything. He's still a senator from Mississippi in the United States Senate. He's going to chair an important committee. But my guess is, he's not going to get involved in this.

COSTELLO: Oh, why not, pray tell? Because the Republicans probably don't want him to.

SCHNEIDER: That's right. That's exactly right.

COSTELLO: OK, Bill Schneider, thank you so much for getting up early.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

COSTELLO: We sure appreciate it.

SCHNEIDER: OK, my pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired January 16, 2003 - 06:34   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: The Bush administration says it will file a motion with the Supreme Court today challenging the University of Michigan's admissions policy. The White House says Michigan's use of race as a factor in admissions to the law school there amounts to a quota system, and that, says Mr. Bush, is unfair and unconstitutional.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I strongly support diversity of all kinds, including racial diversity in higher education, but the method used by the University of Michigan to achieve this important goal is fundamentally flawed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And we've got a rare treat this morning. Our political guru, Bill Schneider, is here in Atlanta. So, we're going to talk to him of this scorching political hot potato.

Why did President Bush choose to get involved in this? He didn't have to.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, he was under a lot of pressure to say where the administration would come out on this issue. After the Trent Lott episode last month, the administration had said, it still says, it wants an outreach to minorities, it's going to be inclusive, and it wants to change the civil rights profile of the Bush administration.

So, therefore, minorities and their advocates were saying, OK, where do you stand on this, the most dramatic affirmative action case in decades?

COSTELLO: So, minority groups have already come out not liking President Bush's comments, so how was this helping him with minorities?

SCHNEIDER: Well, that's the problem, because he was also under pressure from the conservatives to take a strong stand on principle that using race as a preference factor in admissions decisions is unconstitutional. He, in the end, came down with the conservatives, but he tried to make a distinction between preferences and outreach. He said, preferences, no; outreach, yes. He's trying to make that argument and hoping that minorities will get the point that it is all right to help disadvantaged groups compete, but it is not all right to make exceptions and give them a different set of standards for competition... (CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: Does he need to do more to get that message out?

SCHNEIDER: Yes, he needs to do a great deal more, because there are different understandings of affirmative action. I fear that what's going to happen is it's going to be promoted today in the newspapers and in the press, President opposes affirmative action. And that's not going to sit well with a lot of voters, and not just minority voters, because most voters understand that affirmative action is outreach. What the president has to say is, if that's what it is, I support it. That's what he said yesterday. But then he's got to add, but if it means quotas and preferences, no, that's where I draw the line.

COSTELLO: OK, I'm going to ask you a question about Trent Lott, because he sat down on BET and said, you know, I believe in affirmative action, and I'm going to get into the fire. So, where is Trent Lott during all of this, and will he come out and say anything?

SCHNEIDER: I don't think he'll say very much of anything. He's still a senator from Mississippi in the United States Senate. He's going to chair an important committee. But my guess is, he's not going to get involved in this.

COSTELLO: Oh, why not, pray tell? Because the Republicans probably don't want him to.

SCHNEIDER: That's right. That's exactly right.

COSTELLO: OK, Bill Schneider, thank you so much for getting up early.

SCHNEIDER: Sure.

COSTELLO: We sure appreciate it.

SCHNEIDER: OK, my pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.