What is going on? Are we really not ready for a non-white president?

This is getting ridiculous. Unless you have been living under a rock, I assume you have heard of the foolishness going on at some of the Republican/conservative rallies. I have NO problem with criticizing a candidate for their views, their policies, or their choices for a running mate, etc. But when you attack someone because of their nation of origin, looks, something is wrong. This is not the America people fought and died for, and this is not the America that immigrants over the past hundred years have flocked to with hope for a better life. To purport vicious lies (Obama is a Muslim, he isn't American, etc.) really illustrates what I think anyone can see now: The Conservative movement is in MAJOR trouble. They don't have a candidate they can fully support, and hate that the Democratic candidate this year (apparently) has attributes and ideas that a majority of the country at this point want to support. So what do the Conservatives do? They attack him on his looks, ethnicity (false or not) and other non-issues in hopes that they can emotionally discourage people from voting for him! Now thatI bring it up, SO WHAT if Obama was a Muslim? It seems as if the media and everyone has made that lie about him into the ultimate attack on him. What is wrong with Islam? Why, in this wonderful country where we are free to worship as we see fit, is it so wrong that our president be whatever religion he wants to be? I completely agree that "Obamamania" can be rooted in feelings of pure emotion and less about issues, but please remember, for a certain minority subset of the American population, Barack Obama is the living personification of the Dream planted by Martin Luther King. THIS is what black people fought(and died) for in the 60's, a chance for one of their own to ascend to a powerful position and make them proud. This was the hope of our grandparents and great grandparents, that their descendants would be able to live and exist in a time where this was not a taboo event, where it was possible for a black american man to become the most powerful leader in the world. This is the goal of civil rights illustrated at it's finest. This isn't affirmative action, this is a very smart and articulate (and clean! Grrrr Biden) politician who has the uncanny ability to connect with an audience and motivate his voting bloc to support him in powerful ways the GOP dreams of. I heard Laura Ingrahm blasting Obama's campaign last night for "being to large." You know why it's so large? Because no candidate in American history has gotten more first time donors to support his campaign then Barack Obama. At it's core his campaign is a movement directly funded from the people of this country. The fact that Barack Obama is able to run and (thankfully) nothing has happened yet is a testimony to how far we have progressed as a nation. However, the ugly feelings of hatred and racism that have bubbled to the surface have also illustrated how far we have to go. The thought of people screaming "kill him!" at televised rallies boggles my mind. It speakes to nothing more then these people fear of someone unlike them. Below is a youtube video showing some interviews with Palin supporters outside of a rally in Strongsville, Ohio. I'm sick of this stuff. Just let us vote and let us as a country move forward. Foolishness.