San Diego (special) -- During last weekend's speech to the graduating students of UCSD, President Bill Clinton called for a national debate on issues of race and ethnicity with a view toward finding a way of "embracing all our citizens."

As I transcribed the President's speech from my tape recorder, I realized that one way to begin such a debate would be by examining some of the ideas that may have shaped Clinton's thinking on this issue, as revealed not only by his general statements but also by his phraseology.

For example, early in his speech he posed two questions: "Can we be one America respecting, even celebrating, our differences but embracing even more what we have in common? Can we define what it means to be an American not just in terms of the hyphens showing our ethnic origins but in terms of our primary allegiance to the values America stands for and values we really live by?"

What, we need to ask, does the President mean when he says "embracing even more what we have in common"? Also, what does he mean when he talks about "our primary allegiance to the values America stands for"?

My interpretation of what he means is that he believes that we should conceptualize ourselves as Americans first, and as Jews second. His words are more measured, to be sure, but that's the basic idea.

Assuming I am correct in my understanding, I'm not at all comfortable with the way the President looks at these matters. If someone said to you, "You should be left-handed first, and brown-eyed second," you would likely reply, "Don't be silly; I am what I am -- both left handed and brown eyed." 

Similarly, I don't believe we can be either Jews first, or Americans first, no more than we can be our mother's child first, or our father's child first. We are the children of both our parents. And we are the children of both our peoplehoods. 

We are Americans. We are Jews. And I could say that in exactly the reverse order -- "We are Jews. We are Americans" -- and the message would be the same. These are not competing aspects of our identity. These are building blocks of our identity. Take away either, and you take away an important part of who we are.

By conceptualizing "Jewish" and "American" as separate identities which we must prioritize -- or, for that matter, "Black" and "American", or "Hispanic and American", as readily distinguishable portions of people's personas -- President Clinton perhaps unwittingly perpetuates the myth that "true" Americans are those who subscribe to majority cultural values; that is, those who mold themselves to be as much like white Christian Americans as possible.

I say "unwittingly" because I don't think that is what President Clinton really has in mind. I think perhaps he did not subject the aforementioned part of his speech to the same level of intellectual scrutiny that went into other parts of it. 

"The ideals that bind us together are as old as our nation but so are the forces that pull us apart," the President went on to say. "Our founders sought to form 'a more perfect union.' The humility and hope of that phrase is the story of America, and it is our mission today." 

Humility and hope of that phrase. That's a truly beautiful perception. How many times have we read those words in the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States without realizing how -- as President Clinton did -- how humble and hopeful they were. Don't misunderstand me. On many issues, the President has tremendous insight. We can learn from him. And, he can learn from us.

In a wonderfully candid recitation of our nation's history -- amazing, really, given that this is the President of the United States whose words are beamed instantaneously to nations across the globe -- Clinton recited some of our country's obvious contradictions. 

To me his recitation sounded like the al chet portion of a Jewish High Holy Day service, when we say "For the sin we have sinned against Thee by ...." and then enumerate each of our shortcomings.

"We were born with the Declaration of Independence which asserted we were all created equal and a Constitution that enshrined slavery," the President said.

"We fought a bloody Civil War to abolish slavery and preserve the union, but we remained a house divided and unequal by law for another century. 

"We advanced across the continent in the name of freedom, yet in so doing pushed Native Americans off their land, often crushing their culture and their livelihood."

You almost could imagine him ritually striking his chest with his fingers as he came to an al chet that seemed particularly descriptive of how America treated Jewish immigrants: 

"Our Statue of Liberty welcomes poor, tired, huddled masses of immigrants to our borders, but each new wave has felt the sting of discrimination." 

(I wondered if the President knew that the lines he paraphrased appearing on the base of the Statue of Liberty were written by Emma Lazarus, a Jew who could trace her American lineage to colonial times.)

"In World War II, Japanese fought valiantly for freedom in Europe taking great casualties while at home their families were herded into interment camps," the President continued in his recitation. 

"The famed Tuskegee Airmen lost none of the bombers they guarded during the war, but their African-American heritage cost them a lot of rights when they came back home in peace."

And then the President said something that brought to my mind the image of the swastikas and neo-nazi slogans that were sprayed all over Tifereth Israel Synagogue here in San Diego just two weeks ago.

"Although minorities have more opportunities than ever today, we still see evidences of bigotry, from the desecration of houses of worship--whether they be churches, synagogues or mosques--to demeaning talk in corporate suites."

Next in Clinton's speech came a description of his life as a young man who grew up in the Arkansas. "Black and white southerners alike wore our nation's uniform in defense of freedom aginst communism," he told the students. "They fought and died together from Korea to Vietnam, but back home I went to segregated schools, swam in segregated public pools, sat in all-white sections in the movies and traveled through small towns in my state that still marked rest rooms and water fountains 'white' and 'colored.'"

"By the grace of God I had a grandfather with just a grade school education with the heart of a true American who taught me that it was wrong," he added. "And by the grace of God there were brave African-Americans like Congressman John Lewis who risked their lives time and time again to make it right, and there were white Americans like Congressman Bob Filner, a Freedom Rider on the bus with John Lewis. In the long, noble struggle for civil rights they knew that it was a struggle to free white people too."

(Something in me wished that the President had described Filner, in that particular instance, as a Jewish American as well as a white American. Filner's had learned his liberal Jewish ideals from his father, Joseph, an early supporter of the Civil Rights Movement.)

During his speech, Clinton introduced a panel of Americans headed by the historian Dr. John Hope Franklin which he has asked to "educate Americans about the facts surrounding the issues of race, to promote a dialogue in the land to confront and work through these issues, to recruit and encourage leadership at all levels to help breach racial divides, and to find, develop and recommend how to implement concrete solutions to our problems."

The other panelists included former governors Thomas Kean of New Jersey and William Winter of Mississippi; Linda Chavez-Thompson, executive vice president of the AFL-CIO; Suzan D. Johnson Cook, a Christian minister from the Bronx ; Angela Oh, a Los Angeles attorney, and Robert Thomas, president and CEO of Nissan Motor Corp., USA.

His charge to the panel reminded me of the dayenu portion of the Passover seder -- when we recount a series of blessings God bestowed upon our people during the Exodus, any one of which would have been enough. (Dayenu ) Clinton described the results he hopes to get from the panel:

"If we do nothing more than talk, it will be interesting but it will not be enough" Lo dayenu.

"If we do nothing more than propose disconnected acts of policy, it will be helpful, but it won't be enough." Lo dayenu.

"But if ten years from now people can look back and see that this year of honest dialogue and concerted action helped to lift the heavy burden of race from our children's future, we will have given a precious gift to America."

The President said his dream is "to make of our many different strands one America, a nation at peace with itself bound together by shared values and aspirations and opportunities and real respect for our differences."

In a passage that to me seemed absolutely lyrical, he added: "I am a Scotch-Irish Southern Baptist and I am proud of it. But my life has been immeasurably enriched by the power of the Torah, the beauty of the Koran, the piercing wisdom of the religions of east and south Asia all embraced by my fellow Americans."

"I have felt indescribable joy and peace in Black and Pentecostal churches," Clinton said. I have come to love the intensity and selflessness of my Hispanic fellow Americans for la familla. (the family)."

He continued: "As a southerner I grew up on country music and county fairs and I still like them, but I have also reveled in the festivals and the food and the music and the art and culture of Native Americans and Americans from every region in the world. In each land I have visited as your President, I have felt more at home because some of their people have found a home in America."

"For two centuries wave upon wave of immigrants have come to our shores to build a new life drawn by the promise of freedom and a fair chance," the President said. 

"Whatever else they found--even bigotry and violence--most of them never gave up on America. Even African-Americans, the first of whom were brought here in chains, never gave up on America. It is up to you (UCSD students) to prove that their abiding faith was well placed. " 

In a stirring finish, Clinton exhorted the graduates: "Class of 1997, I grew up in the shadows of a divided America, but I have seen glimpses of one America. You have shown me one today. That is the America you must make. It begins with your dreams, so dream large. Live your dreams. Challenge your parents. And teach your children well. God bless you and good luck."