It was probably inevitable that both racism and sexism would rear their ugly heads in the presidential campaign of 2008.

At the beginning of the campaign, the diversity of the Democratic field was seen as refreshing, perhaps a watershed moment for America. A woman, a black man and a Hispanic man all were among the serious contenders for the Democratic nomination. Maybe Americans were ready to leave racist and sexist attitudes behind.

Or maybe not.

As the race for the Democratic nomination winds down to a contentious close, those wedge issues have come back to the forefront. Will white Americans be willing to vote for a black president? Is Hillary Clinton’s defeat a sign that women still aren’t fully equal in America?

They are questions that some Americans hoped we had put to rest. We hoped that we had reached Martin Luther King’s ideal that all people should be judged by “the content of his (her) character” rather than their gender or race. And, yet, as uncomfortable as these overtones make many Americans, the current presidential race may be doing us a huge favor by making us face the discriminatory attitudes that still exist in our nation.

In presidential races gone by, no one said they wouldn’t vote for a candidate because he was a white male. There wasn’t any other choice. It’s only when we have strong, viable candidates who don’t fit that description that we have to really look at our attitudes about race and gender.

Is this really a nation that would disqualify a candidate simply because he was black? Or simply because she was a woman? We certainly hope not, but clearly that question is being asked in opinion columns, television commentary and political cartoons.

On one hand, it’s too bad we’re still having that discussion, and yet, if those attitudes still exist in American, it’s high time to talk about them. For better or worse, forcing that dialogue may be one of the greatest contributions the current presidential campaign will make to America’s future.