Caucasian-Americans

When in public (news)people find it necessary to use a different name for people of color, they often resort to African-Americans or Hispanic-Americans rather than blacks or Latinos. These terms alternate with nearly each sentence, thus maintaining a modicum of respect and political correctness.
Why, however, are people of European descent almost always referred to as whites, and never as Caucasian-Americans? Should this shrinking group also receive a politically correct descriptor similar to the ones bestowed upon the growing minority populations?
In an effort to be fair to all, and to clarify to perhaps uninformed listeners what is exactly meant by the term whites, the aforementioned descriptor should enter widespread and mainstream usage.
Since this is a forgotten little blog in the vast ocean of internet white noise, I fully expect it to go unread and unheeded. But still, think about it.
X