How can you avoid the 6% penalty on Non-Deductable Contributions to an

[Guest MICHAEL WESTRIVER]

I have a $40,000 traditional IRA with

$4000 of it non-deductable. I payed 6%

in penalties when filing my 1998 taxes.

Is there any way to convert the non-deductable portion to a Roth, and avoid the penalty? Or, do I have to convert the whole thing? I really don't

want to pay taxes on all of it at once.