Kagan: Affirmative Action Good Law, Good Politics

As a White House adviser, Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan indicated support for affirmative action as good law and good politics.

The Clinton administration was wrestling with how to weigh in on a case involving a white New Jersey school teacher who was laid off instead of an equally senior black colleague. Kagan endorsed a narrow legal argument to try to prevent a Supreme Court ruling effectively ending affirmative action policies.

The solicitor general wrote a memo saying the case could be disaster for affirmative action. In a handwritten note, Kagan said the solicitor general had "exactly the right position" legally and politically.

Kagan's stance is not a surprise and would put her in the liberal wing of the Supreme Court when it comes to affirmative action.