Regardless of who wins the 2008 presidential election, history will be made big-time. Either the first African-American will take the oath of office as commander-in-chief or the first woman will take her place a heartbeat away from the Oval Office.

In either case, the historical landmark will loom high in the annals of presidential politics.

Other landmarks will seem pedestrian in comparison, except for George Washington’s unequaled eminence as the first president. (He was also the first and only president elected by unanimous vote, the first two-term president and, of course, the first Anglo-Saxon Protestant president).

Martin van Buren, born in 1782, was the first president who was a citizen of the United States at birth (his predecessors were born before 1776 and therefore entered the world as British subjects).

James Buchanan was the first bachelor president. Abe Lincoln was the first president who wasn’t born in one of the 13 original colonies or states. Grover Cleveland was the first (and only) president to serve two non-consecutive terms — and the only one to be married in the White House. Franklin Roosevelt was the only president to serve more than two terms. John Kennedy was the first Catholic president. Ronald Reagan was the first divorcee (although Andrew Jackson married a divorced, or nearly divorced,woman.

Small stuff compared to the breaking of the race barrier or the smashing of the glass ceiling, depending on whether Barack Obama wins the presidency or Sarah Palin wins the vice presidency.

Which leaves a challenge to future presidential tickets. What historical firsts remain?

The election will leave an obvious one: The first female president will still be waiting in the wings of history. If John McCain defeats Barack Obama, will former first lady Hillary Clinton claim the Democratic nomination in 2012? Will John McCain be seeking a second term? Or will his vice president seek to inherit his mantle, giving us the first race between two female candidates? And if either Hillary or Sarah is elected, what will we call the president’s husband? First laddy?

If Obama bombs this time out, will he get a second chance in 2012? Or will the Democrats turn to Hillary or to some rising star (Caroline Kennedy?), regardless of race, creed or gender? And if Obama is elected, will Hillary wait for another open election and try again in 2016?

The ticket-makers will have ample opportunity to seek historical firsts as the American electorate grows in diversity.

After the first woman president could come the first black woman president. After the first African-American president could come the first Hispanic president (will the oath of office be administered in Spanish?). Then can we expect the first Asian-American president? If you think Barack Obama is a mouthful try President Nguyen Xuan Oanh or Han Seung-soo or Zhang Shaozeng. I’m not making these up. They are names of political leaders who have arisen in Vietnam, Korea and China, respectively. One thing’s for sure: They’ll need to be nominated by some national party. They couldn’t win a write-in vote.

Hey, how about the first Eskimo president? Let’s say McCain gets elected and bows out in 2012 in favor of Sarah, who does a bang-up job for two terms: balancing the budget, ending the housing slump, sending the unemployment rate down to zero, providing health care to everybody, restoring GM and Ford to their accustomed status as No. 1 and No. 2 in the auto world, ending the war in an Iraq newly converted to democracy, and bringing Osama bin Laden out of his cave to be guest of honor at a lynching party. How would you top two full terms for Sarah?

By nominating Todd to succeed her. As a descendant of Eskimos, Todd would have certain barriers to overcome. The Eskimo vote is pretty sparse, since Eskimos themselves are rather sparse, and they’re unlikely to deliver many electoral votes outside of Alaska’s grand total of 3. Furthermore there are religious and ethnic issues. One blogger has already raised an alarm: “Todd Palin is not like us. These people worship totem poles and have 147 words for ‘snow.’ Is this the kind of foreign influence we want a heartbeat away from the presidency?” (I think he was kidding, but I’m not sure.)

One can see this heritage as a bit of inconvenient baggage in a presidential race. Some people would regard as elitist anyone who has more words for “snow” than many another patriotic American has in his whole vocabulary.

But don’t write off the handsome Alaskan. He’s a champion snowmobile racer, and that should win a lot of votes among NASCAR enthusiasts — maybe enough to keep the South in the red zone.

Anyhow, by the time Todd’s turn at the nomination rolls around, the Democrats may be nominating a Muslim, and I think most Americans would prefer a totem-pole worshiping Eskimo, no matter how many words he has for “snow.” Nobody, except maybe the 4.6 million American Muslims, wants to see a president sworn in with his hand touching the Koran.

Of course, the biggest nightmare for conservatives would be the nomination of a gay person for president or vice president. This could be tricky if the prospective nominee happens to be in the closet. It would require some exhaustive vetting on the part of party power brokers.

I’m betting, however, that the first gay president will step unabashedly out of the closet and take the nomination with his or her partner by her or his side. A same-sex gay-straight ticket would truly be history-making.

And what would we call the new president’s consort?

First Partner, I suppose.

I suspect that a gay nominee will have to wait in line behind the first Muslim, the first pygmy and maybe the first sasquatch.

But who knows?

Readers may write Gene Owens at 317 Braeburn Drive, Anderson SC 29621 or e-mail him at WadesDixieco@AOL.com.