The day after the presidential election was decided, at least two people chose to end their subscriptions to The Honolulu Advertiser.

One called to say he was tired of what he believed was our slanted and one-sided reporting on Barack Obama and pointed out that many of his neighbors felt the same way. A woman wrote to say that "all media, including you, raved at (Obama) like he is the Messiah while you TRASHED a genuine American Vietnam War HERO, THE HONORABLE SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN in your paid propaganda daily paeans at the cost to the American taxpayers." The letter was coarse and made stereotypical references to Muslims, welfare and terrorists that don't need to be dignified here.

A Hilo man castigated us for showing Obama on the front page at a Veterans Day ceremony with McKinley High School grad Tammy Duckworth instead of using a picture of President Bush. Any reader communication that refers to the president-elect as Barack Hussein Obama pretty much means they don't like Obama or us for writing about him.

In the days after this historic election, the world seems to be split into two camps: those who think Obama is going to solve all the world's ills and those who think he will go down as the worst president in history. The rock-star status and unrealistic expectations that have been thrust upon him are as unfair as the barrage of criticism that face him more than two months before he takes office.

Our job at The Advertiser is to continue to provide some balance, realizing that there is tremendous fascination with any president, especially one who was practically invisible to most of the American public a few years ago. Obama was born here — notwithstanding the endless, groundless speculation about his birth certificate — and was raised here until his graduation from Punahou, so that period of his life will be the subject of news stories, such as reporter Will Hoover's piece a week ago that looked at all the places in Honolulu Obama has lived.

The local interest in Obama is tremendous, and we will cover the inauguration with special interest because more Hawai'i residents than usual will travel to the nation's capital to take part in the celebration. We will also cover his December visit back to Hawai'i in some depth as well as the national and international stories. For us, Barack Obama is a local story and there are plenty of angles to pursue.

We know there will be backlash. Already, we are unable to allow online comments on Obama stories because they always end up containing racist or threatening language, which we will not tolerate. For all the supporters of the new president, there are those who are not about to give him the benefit of the doubt and see what he has in store for the country.

Every move President Obama makes will be dissected, debated, analyzed and spun in all directions. Our coverage will be similarly scrutinized. You may hold us to the same standards we will hold our new president.

Mark Platte is senior vice president/editor of The Advertiser. Reach him at 525-8080.