That might be true if you're from an all-white town/suburb, but if you're the only "white person" growing up in a non-white area, it's a different story!

Here in Hawaii, those whose ancestry is part-European/part-something-else almost always emphasize the part-something-else side, even if they got white skin and blonde hair!

(by the way, I'm part European, part-LAtin American, but my skin is brown and my hair is black, so no one here thinks of me as "white" or "haole")

And if you got white skin and blonde hair here, others will be friends with you, but as soon as you do something irritating, your new name will be (f-word) haole !

I'm not putting down in Hawaii. Just like everywhere else, good & bad happens here!

It's not just Hawaii! We all remember that European-American male who was dragged out of his truck and brutally beaten by racist mobs during the first few hours of the LA riots!

So the idea that European-Americans are insulated from racism isn't true! All groups are vulnerable to hateful bigotry everywhere!

Here are some excerpts of a comment I sent to MSNBC after watching their show the other night criticizing the Clintons and their supporters. I think your article touched on what I feel and why I will vote for Obama but why I am less than enthusiastic.

The first I heard of race in the primaries was in Michelle Obama's interview of MSM where she said, and I'm paraphrasing, that it was time for black people to wake up and realize her husband was a viable candidate and to vote for him. At the time, Hillary was garnering most of the black vote. Was this not a call for African-Americans to vote based on race?

And there are other reasons I am miffed with the Obama campaign and the DNC -

First, Obama promised to get his supporters to help her with her campaign debt - last I heard his supporters had contributed about $100,000 vs. $2.3 mil contributed to Obama by Clinton supporters. Obama supporters - my son among them - has a Why should we?" attitude about helping Hillary. My understanding is it is standard procedure for the winner of the primaries to help retire the debt of his opponents. Until this changes, all my donations for the Democratic nominee will be going to Hillary for her debt.

Second, the Clintons did help Obama long ago when they campaigned for him in Chicago when he was running for the Senate. Bill Clinton was the first two-term Democratic President since Roosevelt. As such, he deserves the respect of Obama and his campaign. This has yet to happen. The Obama campaign and the Democratic leadership allowed people and the media to label him a racist - something that made my blood boil - and something that is not easy to forgive.

Third, Hillary HAS pledged her support to Obama and HAS and IS campaigning for him. And she did get 18 million votes in the primaries. So, she too deserves some respect from Obama and his campaign people.

The Clintons are truly the epitome of the American Dream. Like Obama, he grew up in a single family home - was raised by grandparents - and earned his education through hard work. He used his talents in public service - working to better people's lives. Hillary came from a more affluent family but they were not Kennedys. Park Ridge IL is home to upper middle-class entrepreneurs. Hillary attended the public grammar and high schools in Park Ridge, was a National Merit Scholar and went on to Wellesley where she became a Democrat - leaving the Republican Party because of civil rights and the Vietnam War. She worked for the Eugene McCarthy campaign.

So, you see, these are not the elitists of the East Coast or the West Coast or the entrenched Washington DC politicos. They are down-to-earth regular people whose beliefs reflect their middle-class backgrounds. And they have both spent their careers working to better the lives of the average citizen. Which is why people like me - a die-hard liberal Democrat - do like them and identify with them and believe them when they say they "feel your pain."

So give the Clintons a break - the constant criticism of them reminds me of the media's horrendous attacks on Harry Truman (the best President we've ever had) and his family.

And, as for the Monica issue, it's time to let it go - FDR died in his mistress's bed - Eisenhower had a thing for his driver in Europe - Bobby and John Kennedy both had a number of conquests - Bush, Sr. had his Cabinet sweetie, etc. etc. etc. and all were consenting adults. These issues are ones to be resolved personally, not publicly.

I believe history will show, like it did with Truman, that for all their flaws, the Clintons will indeed have contributed much to American society. And they deserve our respect and admiration for their public service.

Margaret Canniff

Waukegan, IL

Thanks. That was very eloquently expressed.

Where we will apparently persist in differing is that you think that the Clintons have been unfairly smeared, and I maintain that the tarnishing of their reputation is largely of their own doing. You're assuming that everyone who takes a "logical" view of the matter will inevitably reach the same conclusion that you've reached. I get no self-satisfaction in saying that. However, if "comity and understanding" requires that I reach the same conclusion as you, then, unfortunately, we're in trouble.

I respect that you think Hillary was a better choice than Barack. You don't seem to respect that other people may feel differently. You bemoan that superdelegates were intimidated by some Mafia-like threats into "not doing what would've been best for the Party and the nation". Your assumption is that, surely, Hillary would've been better for the nation. You are conflating an assumption with the facts. The fact is, that if the majority of primary delegates had been won by Obama, yet the superdelegates had moved in Hillary's favor, absent any compelling reason to do so, there would've been a likelihood of a contentious convention. Stating that fact is not the same as Tony Soprano and the boys coming over your house and pointing out that it would be a shame if an accident were to befall your family, and I suspect that you know this. I did not make a distinction without a difference, I simply am not dumb enough to think that Wilder was saying yo, if Obama doesnt win, we're getting some pipe-hitters and coming to Denver to raise Hell.

Speaking of threats: perhaps you've missed what various PUMA groups have been saying they'll do in Denver.

Again, rather than focusing on why I am being such a "dittohead", try inquiring as to why I, and other Black people, might feel the way that we do about those statements.

Most importantly, respect the right of others to make a different choice for the nominee of your party than you, and try respecting the choice that they have made.