What is this election really about?

The CNN article "S.C. debate to highlight Democratic fight for black vote" raises several interesting issues brought about by the prospect of a black president in the United States. While some feel that Barack Obama would be the natural recipient of the black vote, many African Americans have been hesitant to cast their hopes behind the candidate until recent polls in South Carolina. They fear that doing so may result in a wasted effort because America will never really elect a black president. Similar sentiments have been raised regarding the proposed acceptability of the American people, due to Obama's extraordinary victory over Clinton in the Iowa Caucus, followed by subsequent losses in New Hampshire and Nevada. How many citizens purport a certain level of open-mindedness in public, but vote differently in a private ballot? Is American ready for this change, or are they only interested in seeming as so? 

Personally, I think that it is excellent and very reflective of the changing face of society and what it means to be an American to have an African American and a woman as frontrunners in a presidential election. However, because of these firsts, both candidates run the risk of being pigeonholed into their respective categories. As opposed to personal attacks on each other, and media focus on race and gender, it would be nice to see both candidates evaluated more by their positions on the issues and whether they are capable of doing the job. Obviously race and gender cannot be easily ignored, but sometimes you have to question what this election is really about, and are the physical attributes of the candidates overshadowing what's really important, or is this what is really important in the eyes of the American people?