About 30 Native Hawaiian community leaders from Hawai'i attended a Presidential Town Hall meeting in Irvine, Calif., where Democratic candidate Barrack Obama pleasantly surprised them with a "hey, howzit" greeting.

Obama spoke by telephone at last month's Asian Pacific Island Americans Vote meeting and was asked by Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement senior vice president Napali Woode about his position on the United States' commitment to federal recognition and to reconciliation with Native Hawaiians.

Obama answered:

"As a Hawai'i native, I know first hand the needs of Native Hawaiians, the history of neglect, and the violation of sovereignty that occurred historically. We can't undo all that history, we need to make sure we're moving forward. I'm a strong supporter of Danny Akaka's Native Hawaiian Government Reorganization Act. As president I will work with Senator Akaka to ensure that this important bill becomes law."

Queen Street-based CNHA is an association of Native Hawaiian organizations, with a network of more than 170 members statewide and nationally. APIAVote is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization which encourages and promotes civic participation of Asian Pacific Island Americans in the electoral and public policy processes at the national, state and local levels.

The meeting featuring Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain focused on issues impacting the Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian communities: education, immigration, the economy, healthcare, housing, and the rising foreclosure crisis.

"The experience exposed topical issues and subjects that helped leverage the knowledge of community leaders here in Hawai'i," said CNHA chief executive officer Robin Puanani Danner. "We know that remaining active in the upcoming election cycle is important to Native Hawaiian public policy issues."