Obama is to Race as Hillary is to Women…Are We In Fact Biased?

Does the very fact that Barack Obama is of mixed race influence voters on a subconscious level? I’d like to ask the same question about Hillary Clinton being a female. How important is gender and race in the overall process of choosing a presidential candidate? Some say it is inevitable that voters will be biased based on which candidate is more similar to the voter. Following this theory, women will prefer Hillary and mixed races and minorities will prefer Obama.

As a biracial woman, I am able to identify why having a female president would be ideal, just as I am able to identify why having a biracial president would be equally as important. Regardless of these understandings, I do not let the simple fact that one candidate is a lady and the other candidate is of mixed heritage sway my opinion of their leadership abilities. According to Senator Barack Obama, a candidate “needs broad appeal, beyond race and gender”. I agree with this statement. The issues that matter to me are whether or not the candidate can effectively change the problems in the nation, from resolving public education issues, to working towards universal healthcare, to simplifying the overall financial aid process, and so on. Shouldn’t the emphasis of a leader be on how passionate he/she is about the causes he/she lobbies for? Shouldn’t the emphasis of a leader be on how invested he/she is in maintaining a healthy and thriving nation? Where are your biases? Do you think they are present in this election?