Monumental Election

The 2008 presidential election is sure to be a monumental one. Yes it might be the first time we have a women running for president or a African American running for president, but is that the only thing that will make it so monumental? It seems like everyone in the country is making a big deal out of 2008 and especially the Democratic primary only because Hilary Clinton and Barack Obama are running. However is that the only big issue here? What about the presidential elections when our countries were in the midst of World Wars or struggling in Vietnam? Aren't the issues that faced our country then more monumental than simply gender vs. race and that we might have a president that doesn't fit the social norm?
The fact is that while this election does have a lot of big issues on board, no one is focusing on that. No one seems to care that this is the first time an incumbent or vice-president isn't running. No one seems to care that this election is essential for the fight against global warming and the situation in Iraq.
While these issues may be important to people it seems that the issue of gender and race are taking center stage. In a January 15th article by the New York Times, called "Primary Colors: The Hispanic-Black Equation" 20 year-old Natasha Carrillo of East LA was quoted saying, " Many people are not ready for a person of color, I don't think many Latinos will vote for Obama. There's always been tension in the black and Latino communities. There's still that strong ethnic division. I've helped organize citizenship drives, and those that I've talked to support Clinton." http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004125568_camplatin15.html
It's sad that people like Natasha will vote for Clinton, or rather won't vote for Obama, simple because of racial tensions between two ethnic groups. Natasha is saying that she thinks Latinos will not vote for Obama not because they don't agree with the issues he stands for but simply because of his skin color. There are probably a lot of people will the same viewpoint about Hilary too. They won't vote for her not because of what she stands for, but because she is a women.
It really struck me when Natasha said, "Many people are not ready for a person of color," What does she mean by that? Does one person's ideas and hopes and dreams for this country change or be inadequate just because of their skin color? Yes, the 2008 presidential election, and especially the 2008 democratic primary, will be a monumental one, but sadly it will be because of gender and race. If there are more people out there like Natasha that can't get over the race factor than our country is kidding themselves in thinking we've made a lot of progress since the civil rights movement. Or at the least we like think that gender and race are not an issue but maybe it is more monumental than we thought.