THE 2008 presidential race is being fought by a wide variety of candidates. Mitt Romney, a Mormon, vies for the Republican presidential nomination against thrice-married Rudy Giuliani, among others. Democratic voters might choose Barack Obama, a black man, or the first woman candidate, Hillary Clinton. But is the public ready? A recent Gallup poll suggests people would more readily vote for a well-qualified nominee who also happened to be black than a well-qualified Mormon one. And it may be some time before an atheist homosexual announces his candidacy.

AP