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A diverse field

As contenders step up to the starting line in the hope of winning nomination for the 2008 presidential contest, politics in the United States appears to reflect the changes that have occurred in society over the past 40 years. Among those who have filed nominations with some hope of success are a woman, an African-American, a Mormon, and a Hispanic American. Victory for any one of them will bring into focus the changing equations between the sexes, ethnicities, and religious groups since the peak years of feminism and the civil rights movement. Real (as distinct from formal) equality of all citizens will be elusive even in the event of a woman or a member of a societal minority emerging as the ultimate winner. African-Americans will continue to figure disproportionately among the underprivileged even if Barack Obama were to become President. Hispanics will not be empowered if New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson wins; they will be, if their share of the population increases in the next few decades. What the diversity of the field does seem to signify is that birth-defined aspects of a candidate's identity are not as salient as they used to be. This is a change of progressive significance.

The candidates with non-traditional backgrounds face the challenging task of reaching out to wider sections of society while hanging on to their core constituencies. Hillary Clinton, who annoyed many women voters during the 1990 election with her thoughtless comments about "staying at home baking cookies," has carefully calibrated her message over the years so as to appeal to liberals as well as conservatives. For instance, Ms Clinton has struck a shrewd note on the abortion issue. While upholding a woman's right to choose, she reminded supporters of this right that the choice cannot be exercised lightly since it was a traumatic one for mothers to make. It took a while for Mr. Obama, who has missed out on some aspects of the `black experience,' to convince African-Americans that he was one among them. To the Illinois Senator's credit, he has been able to do this without diminishing his appeal to a wider audience. The surprise of the electoral cycle so far is that voters appear to be less resistant to a coloured or woman candidate than they are to a Mormon. Mitt Romney, a former Governor of Massachusetts emerged as the leading fund-raiser among Republican candidates at the end of the first-quarter largely due to the help he got from fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. However, according to recent public opinion polls, many non-Mormons are apparently not comfortable with Mr. Romney's religious affiliation.

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