There’s been a lot in the news lately about Obama’s race and Hillary’s gender, two attributes that absolutely no one on the planet has any ability to chose or change.  

Is Obama black enough?  Is he too black? Will being black help him?  Oh, a black President would be so inspirational!   He would symbolize the end of racism.   Obama’s only half black, anyway.  Is Hillary, euphemistically, nagging  or too weak or out of her element?  Is she hated for being a woman?   Oh, a woman President would be so inspirational!  It’s all drivel, and it's all distracting from the very real issues facing our nation. 

The job we’re hiring for, President of the United States, is about political leadership, not modeling.  Those who support Hillary Clinton because she’s a woman are sexist.  Those who support Barak Obama because he’s black are racists.  Both are wrongheaded, no matter how novel it might be.  It’s not a TV show; it’s your government.  America is supposed to be past those sorts of prejudices.  

Too much of the focus is on Hillary's support among women, or Obama's support among blacks or which of them is from Mars or Venus.  Last time I checked, neither women nor blacks were expected to be a major policy problem for the next president.  There's something missing in our national primary discussion: policy.  How many articles have you seen on Hillary or Obama's plans for the economy, or reaction to Bush's plan to create long-term committments with Iraq's government?

Don’t vote based on who you want to have a beer with, or just feels nicer, or is more attractive, is a boy or a girl, is black or white or Latino.  Don’t support a candidate based on genetically pre-determined appearance.  Support someone who will do a good job as President.

Vote based on policy.  Vote based on character.  Vote based on record.  Check out the impressively useful USA Today candidate quiz.  Answer the 11 policy questions and adjust the sliders on the right to weight their importance to you.  See how the different candidates stack up.  Find out the policy differences between Hillary and Barak, on the environment, healthcare, the economy, same-sex marriage, Iraq.  Read their policy papers (Hillary, Barack) and check out their records (Barack, Hillary) Democracy only works when the electorate is informed and attentive, and America needs to pay more attention to things that matter.

“Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.” - Abraham Lincoln