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WASHINGTON — The emerging 2008 presidential field is unusual not only for its size but also for its diversity.

On the Democratic side, which could eventually total 11 candidates, the presumptive front-runner is a woman, a former first lady, chased by a black rock star of a candidate whose middle name is Hussein.

And on the GOP side, with an equal number of possible candidates, the hard-charging challenger is a Mormon, the front-runners are more moderate than the average Republican and the only Southerner of any stature is a Pennsylvania-born former House speaker who resigned amid a swirl of controversy.

So far — and it has hardly just begun — the 2008 presidential campaign reflects the change in America's demographics and Americans' attitudes, the chance nontraditional politicians sense to seize a rare moment, the opportunity to move to front of the bus and make a turn in the ever winding road of American history.

"The field does reflect the country's increasing pluralism," said John Pitney, a professor of American politics at Claremont McKenna College. "It's a story of change, chance and history."

The sexual, racial, ethnic and religious barriers to the White House seem to be fading. A bit, anyway.

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York could become the first female president; Sen. Barack Hussein Obama of Illinois, the first black; Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico, the first Hispanic; Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, the first Mormon; Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas or former NATO commander Wesley Clark, the first converted Catholic.

"Voters are less concerned than we are in Washington whether (the candidates) are Democrat or Republican, or men or women, or white or of color, than they are about what they have to say and whether they can produce in tangible ways for people," said Donna Brazile, who was the first woman — as well as first black woman — to manage a presidential campaign, Al Gore's in 2000.

"What voters crave is honest and effective leadership.

"They have grown less and less concerned about who delivers it than that they deliver it for the ordinary people in this country who make it great," added Brazile.

By 2050, non-Hispanic whites will be a minority of the American people.

So, in the coming presidential campaign, "if the key issue becomes tolerance, then voting for a woman or a minority (or a Mormon) can be a badge of honor, objective proof that a voter is not prejudiced in an era of dramatically increasing diversity," said Larry Sabato, head of the Center for American Politics at the University of Virginia.

The bruising Senate contest in Tennessee between Bob Corker, the white mayor of Chattanooga, and Harold Ford, the black congressman from Memphis, may suggest otherwise. But in losing to Corker, "Ford did much better in a very conservative Old South state than originally expected," added Sabato.

The diverse presidential field for 2008 is also, in part, a result of the contest being the most open White House contest in more than three-quarters of a century.

Not since 1928 has there been a presidential campaign in which no president or vice president is seeking the chief executive's job.

"Having a wide-open field encourages new types of candidates to run for president," said Darrell West, a political science professor at Brown University.

"We are seeing an explosion of candidates with unconventional backgrounds being interested in the top office," said West.

As is always the case, there is no shortage of U.S. senators and governors seeking the presidency in 2008.

"And until recently, these offices have been the near-exclusive preserve of white males," said Pitney.

"That's starting to change, but the key word is 'starting.' There is still only one African American in the Senate. There are now no black governors, and there will be a grand total of one when Deval Patrick takes his oath in Massachusetts," he added.

Diverse backgrounds

Still, the Senate, like the rest of the country, is "no longer the province of white male leaders," West added.

Although Obama is the only black senator, come January the total number of women senators will be a record 16.

And, even more significantly, the House will be led by its first female speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California.

"Candidates from diverse backgrounds now believe they have a legitimate shot at being president," West said.

"And after eight years of (George) Bush, the country may be open to nontraditional candidates."