Ready for what, exactly?

Michael McAuliff reported today that America was more ready for a black president than for a woman president. According to his article, 86% of registered voters would back a qualified woman nominated by their party, while 93% said they would back a black person. However, only 55% think the country is ready for a woman president, and only 56% say that we are ready for a black president.What is this? What does it mean for America to be ready for a black or female president (or a black female president, for that matter)? Blacks and women can both go to college, get jobs, join the military, and do pretty much all of the same things as any American can do, so why make somebody's gender or skin color a political issue? We're as ready for a female or black president as we are a white male.When John F. Kennedy was elected, the country asked if we were ready for a Catholic president, for fear that the Pope would run the country through him. Today, Kennedy is considered to be one of the most admired people of the twentieth century. People didn't even question whether we were ready for a handicapped president when they elected Franklin Delano Roosevelt, who was bound to a wheelchair due to what was believed to be polio (a recent study showed that he was most likely suffering from Guillian-Barre syndrome). If Catholics and the physically challenged, two very large special-interest groups, can win the presidency, then why should we worry about women, or blacks, or any other capable candidate of a minority group?Puting emphasis on minorities, no matter if the intentions are to help or harm them, eventually serves to single them out as different. There are certain times when physical differences have to be taken into account (for example, a person with an illness that makes them faint when they are stressed shouldn't be a soldier, they would only hurt themselves and their fellow soldiers), but if it's not necessary, it should be ignored.So, ignore the gender and skin color of the presidential candidates in 2008. Instead, focus on the candidates competency and their stances on the issues that are important to you.

--Xander