EDITORIAL : START TALKING PRESIDENT'S IDEA FOR CANDID CONVERSATION ON RACE HAS MERIT.

PRESIDENT Clinton's call for a national dialogue on race relations sparked a lot of reaction, enough to illustrate the president's point.

In his speech Saturday at commencement ceremonies for the University of California, San Diego, he said Americans should engage in ``a candid conversation on the state of race relations today.''

A ``year of honest dialogue and concerted action,'' the president said, could help to ``lift the heavy burden of race from our children's future.''

Critics panned his idea as a political gimmick and predicted that it would result in plenty of talk and posturing, but little or no action. Some observed that it was odd for him to deliver the speech in California, since he largely was absent from the state's political battlefield last year in the fight over Proposition 209, the ban on race- and gender-based preferences in public education, hiring and contracting.

Notwithstanding such criticism, we believe that the nation and state have much to gain from the president's idea - despite its shortcomings.

Race continues to be one of the major issues facing the nation. Frank and honest discussions are called for, instead of ignoring it and hoping that it disappears or is solved simply by the passage of time.

The need for candid conversation is acute in Los Angeles and the surrounding region, in particular, as a way of healing divisions and building better communities. This is, after all, the area that experienced the Rodney King beating, the acquittal of the police officers and the subsequent rioting. Many individuals and organizations have tried hard to come to grips with the implications of those events, but there is still a long way to go toward mutual understanding and acceptance.

The need to achieve more mutual respect is increasing, not decreasing, in Southern California. Even though great strides have been made in promoting race relations and equal opportunity, they haven't eradicated prejudice and unlawful discrimination.

There's also an urgency due to the dramatic demographic shifts occurring in Southern California. This is a melting pot, where diverse racial and ethnic groups need mutual respect and understanding if they are to share in the common dream of prosperity, peace and a better life.

We hope that the president's call for conversation and action will actually lead to some action, even though it will be hard to forge consensus on what should be done and by whom.

But even without waiting for the action stage, and even if it doesn't get to that point, honest dialogue would be an excellent beginning. It can help this city, state and nation take a fresh look at what divides our people, how much they have in common, and where the nation goes from here. Above all, it may help Americans discuss race with more enlightenment and less heat.