With less than two months to go, the presidential election of 2008 has already established itself as a race of historic proportions for both the Democratic and Republican parties. The Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention were held not long ago with the DNC held August 25-28 in Denver, CO and the RNC held September 1-4 in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota.On the Democratic side and before a crowd of more than 80,000 people, Barack Obama accepted the nomination, becoming the first African-American to lead a major party.

Also nominated as the Democratic vice presidential candidate at the convention was Joseph R. Biden, 65 and the senior senator from Delaware. Although some Hillary Clinton supporters were upset that the Democratic primary runner-up was not selected, most, such as Aquinas freshman Heather Thum, found the choice an excellent fit.

“Vice-presidential picks are meant to “make-up” for what each candidate is missing,” said Thum. “I think in both cases, it has been a huge strategic move.”

Biden, current chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, brings an element of international expertise that many political observers viewed Obama as lacking. In the run-up to the Iraq war, Biden pressed unsuccessfully for a law requiring President Bush to exhaust all diplomatic options before invading.

As for the Republicans, John McCain shook up the race with the announcement of his running-mate, Sarah Palin, the governor of Alaska and now the first woman to appear on a Republican presidential ticket. With the surprise selection has come speculation that some Clinton supporters will back McCain for his inclusion of a woman on the ticket. Aquinas freshman Becki Johnson doesn’t think it will play out that way, though.

“Those uneducated about the issues will,” she said, but “voting for a woman just because she’s a woman is just as stupid as not voting for a woman just because she’s a woman.”

The nomination of Palin has additionally raised serious questions over the extent to which the Alaska governor was vetted. While traditional Republicans have expressed great enthusiasm for her conservative credentials, Palin is also viewed as inexperienced in matters of foreign policy, and she is additionally the subject of a growing ethics investigation over allegations of official misconduct.