Coming from another politician it might sound trite, or worse, even calculating. But when Daniel Akaka says his mission is to share aloha, it feels genuine.

Akaka's kindness and humility have made him among the most likable Democrats in the U.S. Senate but left him in an odd position for someone who has been in politics for three decades. Facing what could be his most difficult campaign, a primary against U.S. Rep. Ed Case, he has learned that many voters have little idea what he has accomplished.

At 81, a time when he could be discussing his legacy, Akaka has instead had to explain why he deserves another six-year term.

"I've said from the first day that I've felt strongly about reflecting the spirit of Hawai'i and its people — and that of aloha — to the people I associate with in Washington, D.C.," the senator said in an interview at his campaign headquarters. "I've been doing that for all of this time.

"I was taught not to be a showhorse but to be a workhorse. So, in a way, it's been a part of me not to brag. But today, there are so many people who say, 'I don't know what you've done.' So I've tried to tell the people as much as I can about what I've done."

Akaka is appealing to voters not to trade his wisdom and experience for the sake of change.

While the senator has spent much of his career quietly tending to Hawai'i issues, he has become more forceful about reminding people he was also among the minority in the Senate who opposed the war in Iraq from the start, implying he is more likely than the moderate Case to challenge President Bush.

His campaign has downplayed the frustrating struggle over his Native Hawaiian federal recognition bill — which was stopped by a procedural vote in June — but he has been subtly using it as a motivator, telling friendly audiences the bill would pass easily if Democrats take control of Congress after the November elections.

U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye and the party's establishment in the Islands and Washington are helping Akaka with money and strategy, while labor unions are complementing the senator's field operation with organizing that could rival any recent campaign.

Former Gov. George Ariyoshi, who recruited Akaka into politics, said the personal relationships Akaka has made in the Senate can still be rewarding for Hawai'i.

"Senator Akaka today is not the same person physically as he was 20 or 25 years ago. But in terms of what he can do, what he's really good at, he's still very good at going out and talking to people. And you've got to look at what the job requirements are," he said. "It's got to be someone who can go and approach another person and tell him, 'I understand how you feel. And I acknowledge what you feel. But the Hawai'i situation is this, and I really need help for Hawai'i, and we'd like you to come along, to help us along.'

"That's what it takes."

OFF TO WASHINGTON

Some of Akaka's hesitance to talk about himself is cultural, part of his Hawaiian and Chinese ancestry. It may also be influenced by his background as a teacher and principal in the state Department of Education, an often rigid bureaucracy that tends to reward those who color within the lines.

Akaka was picked by Ariyoshi to run for lieutenant governor in 1974 but lost in the Democratic primary. He worked as an aide to Ariyoshi afterward and had more political seasoning when he won in the 2nd Congressional District in 1976.

Akaka snagged an opening on the House Appropriations Committee, which oversees federal spending, and learned how to work behind the scenes with others in the state's congressional delegation to get federal money for his constituents in Central, Leeward and Windward O'ahu and the Neighbor Islands.

He gained insight into the federal spending process, and helped corner money for such projects as H-3 Freeway, but his record was not widely known by voters when he was appointed to the Senate in 1990 after Spark Ma-tsunaga died.

Pat Saiki, a Republican congresswoman, questioned Akaka's effectiveness in their 1990 special election for the remainder of Matsunaga's term after even some of Akaka's own supporters had trouble identifying Akaka's accomplishments during his 14 years in the House. But Akaka, who had solid establishment and union backing, closed remarkably well at the end of the campaign and beat Saiki with 54 percent of the vote.

Safely in the Senate, Akaka has built lasting friendships and functioned as a partner to the powerful Inouye. He has avoided using the chamber's elite platform for a national agenda, instead mining for Hawai'i interests.

His most recognizable achievement is a 1993 resolution signed by President Clinton formally apologizing for the U.S. role in the overthrow of the kingdom of Hawai'i. The resolution came on the 100th anniversary of the 1893 overthrow, and has given Akaka the framework to advance federal recognition and a form of self-government for Hawaiians.

He also has fought for better treatment of veterans, the expansion of Hawai'i's national parks, financial literacy for young people and protection against bioterrorism. His position on the Senate Armed Services Committee, which authorizes defense projects, allows him to collaborate with Inouye, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee's defense subcommittee, on military spending for the Islands.

SOME NOT IMPRESSED

Akaka's modest profile in the Senate has led to some unkind portraits nationally. Congressional Quarterly's "Politics in America" described him in 1994 as "virtually invisible," while Time magazine this year ranked him among the worst senators.

Many people who know Akaka thought the Time ranking was subjective and unfair, mistaking his humility and focus on Hawai'i for weakness. But the fact that Akaka has not left more of a mark nationally has invited such harsh dismissals.

The National Journal, a weekly magazine on politics, gave Akaka's voting record a 78.8 liberal rating in 2005, compared with 69.5 for Inouye. Case's liberal rating was 58.7. (Read more details about their differences at www.honoluluadvertiser.com)

The rating does not put Akaka among the most liberal in the Senate, but he has been willing to counter the Bush administration on votes where it might have been more politically convenient to go with the majority.

"I've stood with votes when there was only a few of us," the senator said. "But I took those votes because I thought it was the right thing to do."

Akaka voted against the creation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in 2002 because he believed the department would not protect union and whistleblower rights and might infringe on personal privacy. He voted against extending the USA Patriot Act this year — after supporting it following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — because he felt it did not adequately protect against intrusive electronic surveillance.

He voted against giving Bush the authorization for war in Iraq and was in the minority again this summer who voted to withdraw U.S. troops by July 2007.

Akaka, unlike many of his party's national figures, can legitimately say he was against the war long before public opinion on the conflict soured.

"He's been courageous in speaking out against this misguided war in Iraq from the beginning," U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., said in an e-mail. "He's a great personal friend and true man of his word. The U.S. Senate needs Danny's judgment and his unyielding commitment to making America live up to its highest ideals in the years ahead."

Akaka considers himself a loyal Democrat. One of the few times he has differed with the party on an important national issue is his support for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which has disappointed environmentalists. Hawai'i and Alaska lawmakers have had an alliance over the years in Congress, but Akaka has said he based his decision on a promise he made to the Inupiat who live on the refuge and see drilling as an indigenous right.

Akaka has tried to persuade the Senate for the past six years to approve legislation — known as the Akaka bill — that would recognize Hawaiians as an indigenous people similar to Alaska Natives and American Indians. The bill would give Hawaiians the right to form their own government that could negotiate with the United States and the state of Hawai'i over land use and cultural preservation.

Akaka and Inouye believed in June that they finally had the 60 votes necessary to overcome procedural roadblocks from conservative Republicans who think the bill is race-based and unconstitutional. But they fell four votes short. Akaka has blamed the defeat on a last-minute letter from the U.S. Department of Justice opposing the bill.

"I thought we had the votes," Akaka said, "so I wanted to take it."

DID HE DO ENOUGH?

But several people who were involved, including some who do not want to criticize Akaka publicly because of the primary, wonder whether Akaka properly locked down the votes or used his full power as a senator as leverage against Republicans. Some also thought Akaka's performance on the Senate floor during the debate was not persuasive.

Akaka has promised to bring the bill back at the first opportunity and predicts it will pass if Democrats pick up seats or retake the Senate after the November elections. But his work on the bill — the issue he is probably known for most among voters — has not been a significant theme in his campaign.

Several people have told The Advertiser that Akaka's allies have discouraged Hawaiians from talking about sovereignty until after the primary because it may hurt the senator among Japanese-American voters who fear the bill might influence private property rights. The Akaka campaign acknowledged this concern in May, after both Inouye and Ariyoshi publicly sought to assure Japanese-Americans that the bill would not take away private property.

Many Hawaiians who have differences with Akaka on federal recognition — including some who oppose it as too weak — remain faithful to the senator as a person and leader.

"How can I explain it? It's like when you have a favorite uncle or favorite grandfather, when you have someone who listens to you," said Jalna Keala, a former government affairs officer for the state Office of Hawaiian Affairs. "Even those people who disagree with the bill, it doesn't mean they don't love him."

ISLAND FLAIR STILL THERE

Some friends within the party had always thought Akaka, more so than Inouye, would be more likely to retire and return to Hawai'i to golf, fish and enjoy his grandchildren. Akaka and his wife, Millie, have a condominium in Alexandria, Va., and usually come back to their home in Nu'uanu on Senate breaks and holidays.

The senator has spent three decades in Washington but, if you have ever visited him there, you know he has not lost his Island style. He still looks more comfortable in aloha wear than a suit. He still prefers hugs over handshakes.

"I think the values he teaches us is what was taught to him by our grandparents. The values of helping others. The values of love and the values of aloha. I think that comes out in everything he does," said his son, Daniel "Kaniela" Akaka Jr., the director of cultural affairs at the Mauna Lani Resort on the Big Island.

"He could have taken the easy out by retiring. That would have been the easy out."

When Akaka is asked whether he has given much thought to retirement, he smiles and chooses his words carefully, knowing the decision is now up to voters. He mentions Inouye and U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who ranks first in seniority and is running for another term this year at 88.

"There's something I learned from Byrd and Inouye, and that was that you don't think of retiring. You serve as long as you can and as best as you can," he said. "I guess my answer will be that I haven't decided when to retire yet."

Reach Derrick DePledge at ddepledge@honoluluadvertiser.com.