Two eminently qualified candidates are front-runners in the race to become the Democratic nominee for the governor’s job. The victor there will move on to a contentious general election — and whoever ultimately wins that race will take over at a time when Hawaii must chart a path out of the current economic malaise and toward a future that can sustain its citizens.

There’s so much serious talk that should be happening now, a month from voting day, that it’s disappointing to see the race already starting to deteriorate. The downward spiral accelerated with the mailing of a "Compare and Decide" flier by the Mufi Hannemann campaign.

The format, a side-by-side comparison of the former mayor with former U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie, is standard campaign fodder. But the content of this one veered off into foolishness.

A few examples:

» The reference to the candidates’ wives — including Mrs. Hannemann’s Japanese maiden name to underscore her ethnicity — was irrelevant at best and offensive at worst.

» While Hannemann’s cum-laude Harvard degree does him credit, was it really necessary to use that as an opportunity to smack down Abercrombie as a University of Hawaii graduate?

Those in the know already realize Abercrombie earned the more advanced degrees, not acknowledged in the brochure, and can dismiss this as a weak critique. But even the casual bystander has to wonder why any candidate would by inference insult the state university, alma mater for many of the voters Hannemann hopes to impress.

» The citation of the embezzlement conviction for an Abercrombie staffer is entirely lacking in context, including the involvement of his other aides in her prosecution.

» Listing Abercrombie’s award in a Lahaina beard contest from the 1960s as his only recognition is simply sophomoric.

The importance of this race, at this juncture of the state’s history, cannot be overstated. Hannemann and Abercrombie have differences in leadership style that can be legitimately contrasted, and have different approaches to solving the state’s problems that should be debated.

But if this flier is a harbinger of what’s still to come as the campaign heat rises, the voters have a reason to worry.

The focus needs to be on the issues, and too much time already has been wasted on the point-counterpoint wrestling match over such inane trivia.

Many people predicted the race between Abercrombie and Hannemann would get rough, but they expected the tug-of-war at least to be conducted over matters of real substance.

Both campaigns should take the reaction to this episode as fair warning that voters expect better — and that they want the slide into the mud pit to be arrested here.