US Presidency
1995

So to those who use this as a political strategy to divide us, we must say no. We must say no. But to those who raise legitimate questions about the way affirmative action works or who raise the larger question about the genuine problems and anxieties of all the American people and their sense of being left behind and treated unfairly, we must say yes, you are entitled to answers to your questions. We must say yes to that. Now, that's why I ordered this review of all of our affirmative action programs, a review designed to look at the facts, not the politics, of affirmative action. This review concluded that affirmative action remains a useful tool for widening economic and educational opportunity. The model used by the military, the Army in particular, and I am delighted to have the Commanding General of the Army here today because he set such a fine example, has been especially successful because it emphasizes education and training, ensuring that it has a wide pool of qualified candidates for every level of promotion.