President Bush, who attended Yale University as a third-generation legacy student, said Friday that colleges should abandon admission practices that give special treatment to sons and daughters of alumni at the expense of other qualified or diverse applicants.

"I think it ought to be based on merit," Bush said, speaking to a conference of minority journalists who pressed him about his views on affirmative action. "And I think colleges need to work hard for diversity."

Despite a less-than-flattering academic record, the president followed in the footsteps of his father, former President George H.W. Bush, and his grandfather, the late Sen. Prescott Bush, in receiving degrees at Yale. His daughter, Barbara, graduated from Yale in May.

When asked if colleges and universities should abolish the practice, Bush said, "Well, I think so, yes."

The president said he opposed quota systems in college admissions but added, "I support colleges affirmatively taking action to get more minorities in their school."

As for legacy admissions, Bush said there should not be "a special exception for certain people in a system that's supposed to be fair."

In his speech the president defended his administration's decision this week to raise the terrorism threat level for financial institutions in the New York area and in Washington, and he strongly denied playing politics with terrorism.

"I will tell you that the threats we are dealing with are real," he told the journalists. "Imagine what would happen if we didn't share that information with the people in those buildings and something were to happen. Then what would you write? What would you say?"

Voting issue raised

Turning to the November election, Bush acknowledged that some Americans could face glitches when trying to cast their ballots even though the nation's voting systems have been improved.

"The voting process needs help all over the country to make sure that everybody's vote counts and everybody's vote matters," he said. "I understand that."

Speaking to nearly 7,000 journalists and news executives at the Washington Convention Center, the president sought to assure the audience that this fall's election would not offer a repeat of the 2000 campaign that ended in bitter division amid allegations that thousands of minority voters were disenfranchised.

"Look," Bush said, "I can understand why African-Americans in particular, you know, are worried about being able to vote, since the vote had been denied for so long, in the South in particular."

With less than three months remaining before Election Day, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has assembled a team of lawyers across the country to prepare for the prospect of another contested election.

Four years ago, the campaign between Bush and Al Gore ended in an unprecedented 36-day legal challenge in Florida, where a 537-vote margin and thousands of disputed ballots stirred controversy and triggered reform.

"Just don't focus on Florida. I'll talk to the governor down there to make sure it works," Bush said, referring to his brother, Jeb Bush. "But it's the whole country that needs--voter registration files need to be updated, the machines need to work, and that's why there's $3 billion in the budget to help.

Fielding questions

As Bush outlined pieces of his re-election agenda, a panel of journalists questioned him on a wide range of topics, from Native American sovereignty to immigration to the war on terrorism. The president said he was acutely aware of the need to protect people's civil liberties in every case.

"We've always got to make sure that people are judged innocent before guilty," Bush said. "That's the best insurance policy for law enforcement overstepping its bounds."

One day earlier, Kerry received standing ovations at the Unity conference of black, Asian, Hispanic and Native American journalists. Initially, Bush faced skeptical laughter, and a lone heckler in the audience interrupted the president's opening remarks, shouting, "Shame on you, Mr. Bush. Liar." By the conclusion, the audience applauded graciously.

Later, Bush traveled to New Hampshire for a campaign rally, where he pointedly challenged Kerry to give a concise answer on whether he would have supported the invasion of Iraq "knowing what we know now."

"That's an important question. And the American people deserve a clear yes-or-no answer," Bush said to applause. "I have given my answer. We did the right thing and the world is better off for it."