OPINION

We and our readers treasure the letters that remind us that there are things about life in North Texas worth savoring. You know, the kind of letters that point to events and people who are making a positive change in the lives of others. The ones that trumpet simple acts that have profound meaning. That tell positive stories our readers haven't heard before.

That's why we publish Three Cheers, a collection of positive letters that offer more reason for hope than despair. This feature runs on Mondays and includes the three best examples of letters that inspire readers to think and act positively.

Consider this your invitation to share your own timely, positive letter. Send it to "Three Cheers" at letters@dallasnews.com. And maybe you'll see it spotlighted on Monday ...

The Daily Beast has a piece from Mark McKinnon and Myra Adams musing on the possibility that Barack Obama could nominate Hillary Clinton for a Supreme Court seat this year.

It's obvious why Clinton might want the seat; few think her ambitions end with the secretary of state gig, but it would be awhile before she could run for president again. And the authors posture that Obama is concerned enough about his legacy that he wants to wipe away the wounds caused by stepping over her on the campaign trail. Plus, "she's as smart and as qualified as any prospect her party could nominate," they say.

But could she possibly have any shot at confirmation?

There would be fireworks, for sure. Partisan hell would break loose. Imagine Rush, Hannity, Coulter et al. What a field day. But, I'm guessing there would be enough Republicans who would support her because: (a) they actually like and respect her having served with her and seen how hard she works and how smart she is; and (b) they have some ambition to run for president themselves and they'd just as soon see her out of the picture.

Color me skeptical. Then again, I was surprised at how much Clinton became the less-controversial candidate in the Democratic primary, too. So I'll make no predictions.

Re: "White, Shami spar on death penalty, gas tax -- Ex-Houston mayor stakes out more conservative positions," Tuesday news story.

Monday night's Democratic primary debate was a breath of fresh air. We, as voters, deserve more than the contentious discourse that has, unfortunately, become the hallmark of our political system over the past two decades.

All we really want is a sincere discussion of the issues and some thoughtful ideas on how to solve our problems.

That is what we got from Bill White and Farouk Shami. At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter whether you agreed with what either candidate had to say. At least you got to hear them without the cacophony and vitriolic rhetoric that has infected and distorted other debates. This became excruciatingly clear later in the evening, when we had to suffer through all of the negative political ads permeating popular television channels.

Now that White and Shami have raised the bar, we'd like to see if Rick Perry, Kay Bailey Hutchison and Debra Medina can rise to the challenge or if they will only continue to wallow in the mud.

Re: "Obama's down time," by Joan McGeachy, Sunday Letters.

I could not help but smile when I read the letter by McGeachy regarding President Barack Obama's down time. Does she remember how much "down time" President George W. Bush took while he was in office?

Obama cannot possibly make a correct move, according to the far right. If he worked 100 percent of the time and was away from his family, they would say he has no "family values."

Re: "Gardening guru to lose longtime radio show -- KRLD ends ties with Neil Sperry, whose last program will air July 4," Friday news story.

CBS has done it again. It used to be that CBS, along with NBC, was a powerhouse in the broadcasting industry. The reason, of course, was that they provided content that the listening public wanted to hear.

Now all that's changed, and CBS wonders why they're losing listeners. Brian Purdy (who is no relation to me), senior vice president and market manager for CBS Radio Dallas-Fort Worth, remarks that it was a very difficult business decision. I'll bet it was. Sperry is and has been a leader in Dallas-Fort Worth gardening for 30 years.

Re: "Shameful Public Policy -- Traffic ticket surcharge is riddled with mistakes," Sunday Editorials.

Visit the Crowley Courts Building. The large majority of defendants charged with driving offenses are indigent or nearly indigent.

First-time offenders receive long probations with rigid conditions, which require substantial fines, court costs, probation fees, counseling fees, alcohol testing fees, vehicle operating fees, etc.

Many lose their jobs due to the strict probation requirements. By adding surcharges, we are punishing the spouses and children, who could surely use the money. Then the defendant who can't pay the surcharge gets arrested and put in jail for driving with a suspended license, and the cycle continues.

We surely need to punish the offender, but the punitive surcharges should be abolished.

Re: "Two discouraging snapshots of society," by Steve Blow, Sunday Metro column.

Blow wrote a column about the lack of qualified recruits for the job of Dallas County deputy sheriff.

Five folks out of 206 applicants made it. I qualified for and survived 31 years on the Dallas Police Department.

If I could, I would not apply to be a deputy now. The pay is low. The benefits are almost nonexistent. The hours are horrible, and the politics are unbearable.

Why would any clean-cut, honorable, moral person try to take such a job? Any fire department is more directly into saving lives. Any hospital or social program is more into bettering life for people.

Anyone out there want respect for what they do? Read the paper: Police officers charged with intoxication. Constables charged with misuse of office. It goes on and on.

I know that the news media tries to show what is unusual and shocking, but when it is done too often, the weight of society begins to swing away from respect and admiration to that of disgust and denial.

Look what just a few stories about our military men did to enlistments. I have no idea what to do about this problem. Do you?

It makes no more sense to kick gay soldiers out of the service than left-handed ones.

One does not decide to be gay -- no more than one decides to be left-handed. That is a choice that you are born with.

The only choice involved is to try to be something you are not. Many gay people try very hard to be straight because that is what most people are.

Just as some southpaws try to bat, throw and pitch right-handed, because that is what most people are. Of course, some southpaws learn to go both ways, but the fact remains that they have a strong inclination to be one way or the other.

Discharge from the military should be based on misconduct, not on the basis of one's sexual orientation.

As long as the soldier, be he or she gay, straight, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, conservative, liberal, left- or right-handed, submits to the command structure and defends the Constitution, he or she should be allowed to serve.

... but one of honor

Before taking a position on the elimination of "don't ask, don't tell," self-appointed military experts should visit a Navy destroyer or fast attack submarine.

Spend a few days living in the crew's berthing compartment, sleeping head to toe. Get dressed while bumping into other sailors also trying to pull up their pants. Take a quick shower in a small stall with a clear plastic curtain while a room full of your towel-wrapped buddies brush their teeth, shave and await their turn in the "rain locker."

The chairman of the joint chiefs, Adm. Mike Mullen, says his views on gays serving openly now mirror those of the secretary of defense and the president. When Mullen was a young ensign just starting his career in the Navy, I was a chief petty officer on a cruiser in the Atlantic fleet. Had he been in need of advice, he likely would have come to someone like me. Were he to seek my advice today, I would tell him to speak the truth and resign.

The elimination of "don't ask, don't tell" is a mistake. An officer's honor has far more value than his position, and it is inexcusable to sacrifice the former to maintain the latter.

I thought that Bill White really helped himself last night. It wasn't just that Farouk Shami looked uninformed. White looked crisp and concise. He came across as a business-minded Democrat who also cares about the environment.

For him to win in November, that is the position he needs to take. Obama may have brought out suburban voters in the 2008 Texas Democratic primary, but he isn't a moderate Democrat. And, over time, the only way Democrats can rebound in the state is through running moderate Democrats who appeal to Texas' center/right voters.

White also needed to sound sharp last night because sometimes he can go on too long. And he can be too on-the-one-hand, on-the-other-hand, in his answers. I'm all for understanding that life is not black-and-white, but he needs to be an effective communicator to win.

He was last night. We will see whether he can keep it up.

Feel free to join the debate in the comments section below on these editorials we are planning for tomorrow's page:

1. HEALTH - We offer qualified praise for Obama's pledge to hold a half-day bipartisan summit to discuss health care. We praise it because such conversation is always useful, and judging from the constructive nature of Obama's talk with the congressional GOP caucus a couple of weeks ago, we expect this forum to be constructive as well. It's too bad, though, that this sort of reaching out in a public, formal way didn't occur earlier in the process. We fear that not a lot is likely to be gained in a practical sense, at least with regard to the current legislation, because in the area of its greatest weakness - cost containment, affordability - the Democrats seem unduly dug in against a key reform that organized labor has opposed. We make clear there's plenty of room for compromise on both sides - Republicans haven't been as constructive as they could have been - but when you look at cost containment, it's the Dems, as the party in charge, where something's gotta give. Bill writing on behalf of the board.

2. We make recommendations in the Democratic primary for Land Commissioner and in the Republican primary to replace Plano legislative institution Brian McCall. Tod and Rodger writing on behalf of the board.

White won in a landslide, but i have a few post-debate questions:

1) Can anyone tell me what Farouk Shami stands for and what he might do in office?

2) Is Texas trending purple enough to elect Bill White in the fall?

3) Would Bill White fare better against KBH or Rick Perry?

4) What's likely to be Bill White's biggest policy weakness in the fall?

Inquiring minds want to know.. Have at it folks. And feel free to offer your own questions-- tasteful and serious ones, of course.