WILL RACE, GENDER PLAY A ROLE IN '08 RACE?

With Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama about to wrestle each other and others for the Democratic presidential nomination, two questions are repeatedly asked.

Are Americans ready for a woman president? How about a black president?

A recent CNN poll would seem to indicate that Clinton's gender and Obama's race are only slightly more than marginal factors.

Some 60% say they think the country is ready for a woman in the White House, while 62% say they think Americans will accept the idea of a black president.

But CNN's Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider writes today that the poll numbers show the pairing may be more about each individual than about their race or gender.

And, in a imminently more acidic way, The New York Times' Maureen Dowd comes to a similar conclusion.

Both are worth a read.