RALEIGH — In its daily newsletter called “The Morning,” the New York Times had this to say about California voters defeating a proposition that would have reinstated racial preferences in state hiring, contracting, and university admissions:

“Polls that ask broadly about affirmative-action programs for racial minorities find most Americans to be in favor of them. Polls that specifically ask whether employers and colleges should take race into account when making decisions find that most Americans say no. These two patterns are contradictory.”