(Photos from left: Kristoffer Tripplaar-Pool/Getty Images, Edward Linsmier/Getty Images)

By Andre Showell

Recent moves by both President Obama and Republican hopeful Mitt Romney are making the distinctions between the two candidates crystal clear. In what seems to be an effort to appeal to their base constituents, the campaigns are intensifying efforts to clarify exactly where their candidates stand. Are they liberal or conservative?

Mitt Romney’s announcement that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is his pick for vice president was aimed at showing Romney in a different, perhaps brighter, GOP light. The former Massachusetts governor was widely believed to be a moderate in a climate that has forced many elected officials to hop the fence and pick a side. The selection of Paul Ryan, a fiscal conservative bar none, may help to put questions about Romney’s conservative chops to bed.

Obama, amid criticism about his own liberal street cred as it relates to same-sex marriage, gave a televised interview clarifying his position of support. He had expressed his opposition to the military’s “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy and strengthened hate crimes legislation within the Department of Justice in the past, but he felt the need to dispel any doubts about exactly where his own opinions lie in regard to same sex marriage.

As we march toward Nov. 6, I wonder if this is only the start of attempts to draw distinctions between the candidates in a race that seems to be providing voters with clearer choices.