I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget walking through a book store and seeing an illustrated children’s book about Barack Obama.

The book, titled “Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope,” outlines the president-elect’s life from his birth until now in a rather biased manner.

The description of the book on Amazon.com touts the work as “the moving story of an exceptional man” and calls Obama “a bridge to bring people together.”

Not to be outdone, “My Dad, John McCain” hit American children’s bookshelves like a hurricane, leaving an eerily similar level of horror and disbelief as an actual tropical storm.

It’s an odd time we live in when candidates begin propagandizing elementary schoolers.

It calls the candidates into question, for sure, but what does it say of America?

Perhaps more mystifying than the books themselves is the stunning critical acclaim they’re receiving.

Says one pleased Amazon.com customer of McCain’s book, “This was the perfect book to teach my young five year old about the 2008 presidential candidate for the Republican Party.”

I suppose the reviewer cracked the code herself, but this is a five year-old kid. What stock does a child have in the election?

I’m sure the kid found the book to be a real page turner.

But this shouldn’t be as shocking to me as it is.

This has been an absurdly image-based election, with actual politics taking a back seat to, well, everything else.

Take Mitt Romney, an ex-nominee for the GOP’s candidacy, for example.

Romney is a noted Mormon, and his religion seemed to be the deal-breaker for a number of voters.

“Mr. Romney struggled in [South Carolina] in large part because of the suspicion among evangelicals who play a decisive role in the Republican primary of his Mormon faith,” Nytimes.com blogger Michael Luo said.

In Nevada, it was a different story.

“Mormons made up a quarter of Republican caucus participants and 90 percent of them voted for Mr. Romney, comprising about half of his vote total,” Luo said.

Sad, considering the one who ended up winning the candidacy agreed with Romney on abortion, the death penalty and same-sex marriage, all purported “talking points” of the election.

It’s clear to me that religion, age and race decided a vast majority of the votes cast in this record-breaking election.

And, to be clear on that, I think it was race still that brought the highest turnout since 1960 to the polls.

In fact, exit polls found 95 percent of African-American votes being cast for Obama.

What stock does a child have in this election?

The answer is none, but perhaps the youth of America are being groomed to ignore politics on both sides, securing victories for young, attractive, minority candidates for decades to come.

But it’s probably not worth stewing over anymore.

Obama is being sworn in Tuesday, and he’s narrowed down his puppy search to a labradoodle or Portuguese water hound.

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