If not now, when can a woman be president?

Respecting Clinton's race
Wilson pointed to several women with promising political futures who could one day seek the White House: Democratic Govs. Kathleen Sibelius of Kansas and Janet Napolitano of Arizona; Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota; and Republicans like Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and business executive Carly Fiorina. However, none has the name recognition, fundraising network or political connections Clinton was able to draw upon from the early days of her run.

Clinton's pioneering candidacy also won't necessarily mean the next female contender is going to have an easier time of it, warns Walsh.

"It will still be rough for women to come after her," she says. "They'll have to walk that balance of being strong and tough, compassionate and soft. When you're tough, you're called shrill, and the B-word. When you mist over, they say you're weeping."

To feminist writer Linda Hirshman, Clinton's likely defeat signals a harsh reality that future female candidates will need to consider.

"It shows how fragile the loyalty and commitment of women to a female candidate is. That's a pretty scary thing," says Hirshman. "She can count on the female electorate to divide badly and not be reliable."

For their part, Obama advisers said they believe that most of Clinton's female supporters will come their way eventually and won't throw their backing to Republican John McCain. The New York senator has already pledged to work actively on behalf of the Democratic nominee.

Many Clinton supporters hold out hope that Obama might consider choosing Clinton as his running mate. And since she is still relatively young at 60, some can envision another presidential bid.

Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is supporting Obama, said his campaign was well aware of the disappointment Clinton's female supporters are likely to feel if she loses the race.

"I think the most important thing is that we stay focused on being incredibly respectful and admiring of who Hillary Clinton is as a person and what she represents as a leader," McCaskill said. "She's run a very strong race and deserves the passionate support she's received. I think the respect in the Obama campaign is genuine — we don't have any problem understanding why millions support Hillary Clinton."

Picking the president: The candidates Click to visit that candidate's MSNBC page or click the XML symbol for an RSS feed. John McCain                Barack Obama

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