Legal Commentary

Obama's "Potential" To Move Away From ?Stale? Affirmative Action

The Boston Globe editorializes tomorrow that Obama?s election creates the ?potential? for the nation to ?mov[e] away from stale notions of affirmative action.?

The BG implies that Obama is ready to seize this potential, noting that Obama has said that his daughters, who are privileged, don?t deserve to benefit from it. I have discussed that comment, and its limitations, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here.

If you read all (or even some) of the above, you will see that I have my doubts as to whether Obama will take advantage of the ?potential? to abandon ?stale notions of affirmative action? (I must have been dozing when the Boston Globe opposed these ?stale notions,? since I don?t recall them), but I hope my skepticism is misplaced.

My hunch is that he will continue to make opaque comments about equality that sound good to everyone, keeping the hope for ?change that we can believe in? alive in those who see more ?potential? than I do, even as he proceeds to fill the civil rights enforcement positions in the government, and later nominate judges, who are confirmed preference pushers.

Full post as published by Discriminations on November 15, 2008 (boomark / email).