Most of the recent polls are showing that Obama will either tie or lose to McCain. Hillary beats McCain in the polls. Obama may have the appearance of being a 'different type of politician' but many voters are increasingly finding him to be untrustworthy. Or at least, of being no more trustworthy than any other politician. With his lack of experience, even those who trust his word implicitly must question if he can implement change. And with the recent Wright scandal, many pundits are predicting a free fall for Obama.

McCain may very well pick up Independents, undecideds and Reagan Democrats, (besides folks who are anti Obama for..other reasons) which will offset the right wing of his party that distrusts him.

Hillary is the candidate to beat McCain. It is still, in many areas, a sexist nation, as you mentioned,and I believe that accounts for much of the antagonism to Hillary; even on this site I hear vicious, mysogonist (and just plain silly) rantings about her qualificaitons that really come down to viewing her as an 'uppity b***h. There's often more comments on her marriage or how she wears her pantsuits than about her qualifications, her platforms and her successes in the Senate. But there has been a(perhaps underreported) groudswell of support for the idea of a woman candidate, not just from women, but from men who have no prejudice against a woman leader, and especially from those who want to see their daughters being able to live and THRIVE in a better world.

One may be tempted to forget that half the nation is women. But do not be surprised to find there may be many women who even have, in the past, voted straight Rebublican all their lives, but who will enter the curtained sanctuary of the voting booth, and think about the struggles of their lives and the future of their children. Those woman have a chance to step out of the marginalized role that has been women's history for many centuries, and they will pull the lever for Hillary. I think she is the better candidate overall, but besides that, she is, in my opinion, the only candidate who has a chance of winning against the very powerful Republican party.