Are we seeing racism and sexism in this election campaign? Sure we are.

One form of racism is when people allow race to decide a question. When I was in high school our neighbors denied their kids music lessons because the music teacher was black. Theirs was a racist decision.

Do we have voters who will allow race to decide how they vote in November? Undoubtedly. However, this is a two-edged sword. Few commentators dare mention both edges.

Yes, many white voters will not vote for Senator Obama because he is black. Down and dirty, this is their sole reason. And, of course, this is a racist decision on their part.

However, many black voters will vote for Senator Obama because he is black. And for no other reason. If a white candidate held identical views to his they would not vote for him. Their decision is just as racist as that of whites who will only vote for a white.

We see the same phenomenon with sexism in this election.

No doubt there are many men, and some women, will not vote for a woman candidate. For no other reason than she is a woman. (My mother-in-law refuses to vote for a woman for our top offices.)

And certainly you know women who will vote for a woman solely because she is one. They want to see a woman elected for once. There was no shortage of women who voted for Hillary in the primaries because she is a woman. In addition to women who voted for her because they liked her ideas.

Now, lots of these folks will take umbrage with me over this. I can only suggest they not shoot the messenger. Detecting and defining racism and sexism is fairly easy to do. And that is all that I am guilty of. Along with ending sentences with prepositions.

Such blatant prejudice should not surprise us. We have any number of magazines these days that have 90 percent women staffers. Thirty years ago they were 90 percent men staffers. There was sexism afoot then. There is sexism afoot now.