he Bush administration must decide in the next few weeks what position, if any, to take in a potential landmark affirmative action case. The Supreme Court will hear arguments next year in challenges to the University of Michigan's use of race in undergraduate and law school admissions. With Trent Lott's recent remarks casting doubt on the Republican Party's commitment to racial equality, there is more reason than ever for the administration to stand up for affirmative action.

Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who represents the president before the Supreme Court, is reportedly eager to weigh in against the Michigan programs, while the White House counsel, Alberto Gonzales, is said to oppose such a stand, arguing it will hurt G.O.P. efforts to attract minority voters.

President Bush regularly talks of the virtues of inclusion. He is justifiably proud of appointing distinguished African-Americans and Latinos to such important posts as secretary of state, national security adviser and White House counsel. One reason the president had a highly qualified pool of minority members to draw on is that affirmative action has helped them make their way into educational institutions and up the career ladder. Secretary of State Colin Powell has said that in his military career he at times benefited from having his race taken into account.

It is fitting that the administration's dilemma arises during the firestorm over Mr. Lott, because both are about turning back the clock on race. The white plaintiffs seek to overturn an admissions policy — in which race is counted as one of a number of "plus factors" — that the Supreme Court has approved going back to 1978. If the University of Michigan loses, the number of blacks and Latinos enrolled at top campuses would be likely to plummet.

In his television interview this week, Mr. Lott assured America he had come around to favoring affirmative action. It sounded cynical under the circumstances, but it was also the right thing to say. In its brief to the Supreme Court, the Bush administration should say willingly what Mr. Lott said under pressure — that it sees carefully drawn affirmative action programs as the best way of opening up opportunity to all Americans.