At least now Hawai'i has a little breathing room on an important issue. On that much, everybody can agree.

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights caused quite a stir in the past few weeks with the hurried initial meetings of its Hawai'i State Advisory Committee, including an initial public informational briefing on the Akaka bill that many in the general public would have no chance to attend.

That's because it was scheduled with very little notice so that only those already in the official loop on either side of the Native Hawaiian federal recognition debate knew about it in time to attend. This is the opposite of what should have happened in an issue that deserves a full airing here.

So it's a relief to see that the advisory committee's next round of public forums has been postponed. This ought to give Isle residents at least the opportunity to do more than shoot from the hip on this contentious issue.

Of course, nobody who's lived here for more than six weeks will expect forums free from heated rhetoric. The challenge facing Chairman Michael Lilly is to keep a lid on the fear and anger woven through these discussions.

In recent years, the national commission has fallen short of its nonpartisan ideal. Shortly before the 2004 election, a draft report lambasting President Bush's civil rights record was posted online, which doubtlessly infuriated the president and fueled the overhaul of commission leadership.

There was also a push for turnover on the advisory state panels. In theory, the new term limits were useful in enabling new members to be heard. However, their selection should not have hinged on a single issue as much as it did in Hawai'i's case.

Despite such political constraints, the Akaka bill would have enormous impact on this state, and the public should take this opportunity to ferret out some facts from the background noise arising from both sides.