--- Tkinter_svn.py	2008-02-21 09:44:43.000000000 -0800
+++ Tkinter.py	2008-02-21 10:04:22.000000000 -0800
@@ -1060,6 +1060,7 @@
     def nametowidget(self, name):
         """Return the Tkinter instance of a widget identified by
         its Tcl name NAME."""
+        name = str(name)
         w = self
         if name[0] == '.':
             w = w._root()