Battle for Democratic nomination continues...

As I'm sure you all are aware by now, Hillary won the Pennsylvania primary last night, meaning that she and Obama will continue to duke it out for at least another two weeks. There's a great article on Drudge that discusses what this means for McCain. Most Republican strategists see this continued internal fight amongst the Democrats as beneficial for McCain, however, the GOP candidate himself has refrained from making such assumptions.

So, with the Democratic nomination still up in the air, the debate continues as to whether the country is prepared for its first African-American or female president. We have been discussing this issue in class and there are mixed views. A few articles that we studied include:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/02/12/pa-gov-ed-rendell-some-white-voters-not-ready-to-elect-black-candidate/

http://www.newsweek.com/id/115397

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-kinsley27mar27,0,6660646.story


Personally, I feel that gender and race should not be the primary focus of an election. Rather, voters should support a candidate whom they feel will best fulfill the duties of the office. Vote for a candidate because you feel that he or she is most qualified for the position and because you share similar beliefs with him or her. However, voters should not push all rationality aside and vote for a candidate on the sole basis that they want to see the first African American or woman in the White House. While I believe that America is ready to overcome these race and gender issues, I hope that voters will make an informed decision and vote for the best person for the position, not simply the first.