Obama and Affirmative Action

Real Clear Politics linked to a five-minute clip from the latest episode of Real Time With Bill Maher. The debate concerned President Obama's academic record, his admission to Harvard, and the implications of affirmative action. Grit TV's Laura Flanders argued the following (2 minute mark):

We as a society have to deal with the legacy of racism - right? And I think that you stop by saying - look, we've lived for centuries with white supremacy. We're barely out of it. We've had centuries of affirmative action for white guys. And then we freak out and start talking about faux-pression when we find there's some actions being taken to reverse things.

Two wrongs make a right? If white affirmative action was wrong, how is using the same practice for nonwhites OK? Is discrimination OK based on the context and the cause being advanced? There has to be a better argument for affirmative action than this?

Furthermore, Obama is not the victim of centuries of American slavery or descended from such victims. Obama's mother was white and his father came here from Kenya to study. Starting at the age of 10, Obama was raised by his upper middle class grandparents who sent him to prep school. He needed no help getting into college. If there is a case for affirmative action in order to redress historical wrongs, his is not it.