President Clinton, who only months ago had rushed to accommodate Republican plans to repeal federal affirmative-action programs, now suddenly seems ready to turn and fight. On the eve of what the White House has billed as a defining presidential speech on the issue, Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Deval Patrick announced that Clinton would not "be intimidated" by aSupreme Court rulingthat jeopardizes programs that award federal contracts to minority businesses. "The Administration, through the president's speech, is making clear that we favoraffirmative actionwithout hype, without fear and without apology," Patrick said during a minority business summit on Capitol Hill. If the programs can't survive the Court's tough standards, he added, they "can, and should, be modified so that they meet that challenge."