the simple fact that this country can be at a point where a black man, and a white woman are running for the presidency, in the same party, and truly have a shot at winning our election this november.

anyway, im behind obama 100% at this point and i do not see that changing any time soon.

in fact, at this point, on february 10th, there is a rally for obama in cambridge at sailwinds park, and i plan on being there.

so with that, i must say, VOTE OBAMA in 2008!

Tony - I too think it is great that a black man and a woman are the 2 front runners for the Democratic nomination.

However, I think you are giving the country too much credit if you think that either will actually be elected. As much as it pains me to say it, this country, as a whole, is not ready to elect a woman or black man as president. Personally, I think if either name appears on the ballot, we will have at least another 4 years with a Republican as president. I really hope I am wrong.

@Scott: I prefer to have a more hopeful attitude about America's attitude towards ground-breaking candidates, and I have two statistics to back my opinion up: first, the number of Democrats coming out to vote for the primaries is larger than that for Republicans, and has shown a larger increase from years past. Also, a CNN poll (http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/01/21/mlk.day.poll/) recently said that 72% of white Americans and 61% of black Americans think that the country is ready for a black President.

My biggest hope is that race and gender will continue to be a minor issue in this race, and a non-issue in the future, even when we're considering "electability".

Tom - Democrats basically have a choice between a woman and and a black man, so either way they are voting for a 'ground breaking' candidate in the primaries. In the general election it will be a completely different story.

Also, saying you think the country is ready for a black president is different than saying you will vote for a black candidate, which is different than saying you think that candidate will be elected.

There is also a difference between electibility and the best candidate. In my opinion the best Democratic candidate was/is John Edwards. I like where he stands on a lot of issues. But it seems the Democrats are focusing on putting up the best 'ground breaking' candidate, rather than the best candidate.

Politics in America has become like school council elections. Its not so much who would be the best for the job, but who is the most popular, and typically, we wind up having to chose from the best of the bad choices.

I hope I am wrong, I hope that which ever gets the nomination wins the election. That is one time I will enjoy saying I was wrong.

@Scott: I just can't agree with your view (except for the part about politics being a popularity contest, which I will agree it is). There's no *way* that two candidates who have had so much success in raising money and bringing out voters are simply going to lose support just because we're going to a larger election. I think the excitement of the primaries is indicative of the interest of the population at large.

Even if the Democratic nominee does lose the Presidential election, do you really believe that it will be because of race or gender? If the Democratic nominee happens to lose 48% to the Republicans' %52, are you going to conclude that the candidate wasn't electable in the first place? That's the likely margin of a loss... but, should it come near that percent, you can't call 48% of the vote for a black or a woman a disappointment. I'll call it progress.

I am proud to be an American, yesterday, today and tomorrow. I have been proud of the USA for the past 57 years. I solute old glory where ever it may wave. I stand at attention with my hand over my heart when I say the Pledge of Aligence or sing the National Anthem. Abama does not stand at attention with his hand over his heart for the National Anthem and his wife has never before been proud of being an American until recently. I am a Democrat and I vote only Democrat but how can I vote for someone who does not love this country like I do.