1.   Clinton says his instincts as a conciliator stem from his youth, when he was forced to intercede to stop his alcoholic stepfather from abusing his mother.

2.   Ellis grew up poor in Lockhart, suffering nightly beatings and sexual abuse from an alcoholic stepfather.

3.   In fact, the only daddy Clinton knew was an alcoholic stepfather who sometimes beat his mother, not him.

4.   One -- the legacy of growing up with an alcoholic stepfather -- was a desire to finesse any conflict.

5.   Ray, seeking redemption, questions whether he should have stayed and helped his sister face the unwelcome advances and subsequent suicide of their alcoholic stepfather.