My Words are Flat and Harsh

By Peter Szekely

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Being female or black is less of a liability for U.S. presidential candidates than being over 72, Mormon, twice-divorced or a cigarette smoker, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll issued on Tuesday.

With the 2008 presidential race featuring perhaps the most diverse field of White House contenders ever, the poll showed being a woman or an African American carries the least amount of negative baggage.

The poll, which isolated attributes of some candidates but did not ask about any, may be good for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, the only woman running, bad for Sen. John McCain, who turns 72 in August 2008 and mixed for Sen. Barack Obama, the only black candidate and a smoker who says he's quit.

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What's wrong with being a Mormon or a smoker? Hmmmm... Just asking...

Please don't think that I am asking this to be racist or whatever. At this point, I'm just a little bit skeptical... like thinking, can this man really do this? Or can this woman do this? As of now I'm undecided. And again, please don't think there is any malice in my question.

I'm ready to vote for a "cleaner" more decent presidential candidate though.

I don't care what color they are. Color is a negligible factor - cultural, intellectual, and moral factors are more important to me.

However, we cannot deny the fact that racism is still very much alive and well in America. No matter now much people would like to think we have moved past all that it certainly is not true. I hope we can get past this racism against women and blacks, because both are as capable of running this country as any one we have had and better than some we have already elected.