"McCain Supports Ariz. Proposal to Ban Affirmative Action
By Robert Barnes
Sen. John McCain said today that he supports a proposed initiative on the November ballot in Arizona that would ban preferential treatment on the basis of race or sex in public education, jobs and contracting, an apparent change in his previous position that such attempts are divisive.

In an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, McCain said he supports the proposed ban on affirmative action; similar measures will also be on the ballot in Colorado and Nebraska.

Asked if he supports measures that would "do away with affirmative action,'' McCain replied: "Yes, I do. I do not believe in quotas. But I have not seen the details of some of these proposals. But I've always opposed quotas.''

"But the one here in Arizona you support?'' Stephanopoulos asked.

"I support it, yes,'' McCain said.

Quotas are not an issue in the proposals, because the courts for years have been striking them down. The language on the fall ballots is part of a campaign by former University of California regent Ward Connerly, an affirmative action opponent who has been successful in his home state as well in Washington and Michigan.

The ballot language reads: "The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting."

McCain's Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, criticized the Republican senator when he spoke before the UNITY Journalists of Color convention in Chicago.

"I am disappointed that John McCain flipped and changed his position,'' Obama said. "I think in the past he'd been opposed to these Ward Connerly initiatives as divisive. And I think he's right. These are not designed to solve a big problem, but they're all too often designed to drive a wedge between people."

Obama was referring to McCain's comments to a Hispanic business group in 1998: "Rather than engage in divisive ballot initiatives, we must have a dialogue and cooperation and mutual efforts together to provide for every child in America to fulfill their expectations," McCain said then." (Robert Barnes, The Washington Post, July 27, 2008)