How does Obama feel about affirmative action?

Answer 1

He has sent mixed signals about it. On the one hand, he has said his own daughters do not deserve special preferences in admission to a college, and that he understands the resentment toward such preferences by whites who do not feel privileged (or who believe, rightly or wrongly, that minorities get benefits that they do not get). But on the other hand, he also has encouraged companies and schools to continue policies that promote diversity. He does not agree with quotas, but he does seem to feel there is still a need for Affirmative Action under some circumstances. He has expressed the belief that children should be judged by their ability to achieve and that if students work hard, that should be the way they move up. But he also has noted that the playing field is not level and that some minority students (as well as some impoverished white students) go to inferior schools and lack the educational background needed to get into a good college. Thus, he does not seem ready to end Affirmative Action, but seems to be seeking ways to include more people based on their social class, rather than just their race alone.