Barack Obama is black. Hillary Rodham Clinton is a woman.
So if you're an African-American woman - and therefore, presumably, a Democrat - how do you choose between Senator Obama and Senator Clinton in what could turn out to be a precedent-setting presidential election?
That was the question on my mind as I wandered the lobby Friday at the Democratic National Committee's 2007 winter meeting, which doubled as the first cattle call for the party's 2008 presidential contenders. Before getting to the responses from several notable African-American women I cornered, let's pause to consider for a moment just how significant the black female vote might be in next year's Democratic primaries.
According to Census Bureau figures, in 2004, African-Americans cast 14 million votes nationwide. Now comes this stunner: Because African-American men not only are fewer in number but also register and vote at much lower rates, black women cast almost three of every five of these votes - 59 percent, to be precise. White women also outnumber, out-register and outvote white men, but the disparity is smaller (53 percent to 47 percent).
Whatever their color, female voters have never before wielded such electoral power. The black female Democrats with whom I spoke seem pleased that 2008 provides fresh options and plenty of influence.
"As an African-American woman, it's an honor to have an African-American and a woman vying seriously for the presidency of the United States, and I think our time has come," said Yvonne Atkinson Gates, DNC member and Clark County, Nev., commissioner. "For me, it's not about their race or gender, but who is going to be the best candidate."
This last sentiment - that neither race nor gender is an automatic qualifier - was a common refrain. But even if these politically savvy women were being coy, there were subtle differences in their replies.
Regena Thomas, a former New Jersey secretary of state, is a political insider who takes comfort in the fact that black women in the party increasingly find themselves on the inside. "African-American women will determine this nomination, I can guarantee you that," she predicted. "And I think there will be some African-American female leadership in every campaign."
