3rd-Generation Yalie Bush Opposes Legacies
Yet another flip-flop from our chimp-in-chief. First this "C" student accepts admission to Yale, then he wants to deny any other under-achieving over-privileged sons from having the same opportunity.
President Bush, who followed his father and grandfather to Yale University despite an undistinguished academic record, said Friday that colleges should get rid of "legacy" admission preferences that favor the sons and daughters of alumni.
Some more choice quotes from this article:
"In my case I had to knock on a lot of doors to follow the old man's footsteps," Bush said Friday. Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan said Bush was talking about how hard he had to work to follow his father into the White House.
...
Bush told the minority journalists that he opposed quota systems in college admissions but "I support colleges affirmatively taking action to get more minorities in their school."
Is this a joke? "Affirmatively taking action"? I think this qualifies as a major flip-flop - and as a cheesy parsing of words that the Big Dog himself would be proud of. Remember, it was Bush's administration who argued strenuously in the Supreme Court that the UMIch Law School admissions policy (providing extra points for race) was unconstitutional, and it's Bush that spews lame rhetoric denouncing affirmative action every day on the stump.
I'll be honest, affirmative action is one of my least favorite parts of the Dem platform - to me it's nothing more than saying that two wrongs make a right. But I'm glad to see Bush try to pander to the black vote by supporting "affirmatively-taken action", since it may take that issue off the table for November. In any case, opposing legacy admission to college may be the smartest thing Bush has said in his four years.
Another thing that struck me was the title and tone of the article. From the AP, I'd expect something a little more positive about Bush. Instead, they basically imply that he's a hypocrite for opposing legacies (they're right, of course).