Will Enough Men Stand By This Woman?

Ed Brick, a California contractor, actually started out supporting Clinton and then turned on her. "I don't know what it was, but the more I read and the more I listened to her, the less I liked her," he says. "I never get the sense she's giving a straight answer, and that doesn't give me much faith in her. I don't care about color or gender -- I just want someone straightforward with the people."

"Women see her not just as a role model, but as a savior," says Frank Luntz, a Republican pollster not affiliated with any presidential candidate. "Men know she is smarter, and there is a sense of intimidation. But it goes beyond that. She never admits a mistake, and that's a big mistake."

In fact, she has made strong gains among white men, who have been fleeing the Democratic Party for decades. In 2000, exit polls showed George W. Bush leading Al Gore among white men by 24 percentage points. Four years later, with Kerry at the head of the ticket, the margin for Bush was 25 points. In addition, there are unique challenges for most women running for office.

"In general, men have the most problem electing women to executive jobs -- such as governor," says Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster and strategist working with Sen. Joe Biden in the presidential race. "They wonder, 'Can she be effective? Will other men -- in Congress, world leaders -- be willing to listen to her?' "

But Lake and others also note that Clinton does have unique negatives. "In Senator Clinton's case, men have stored a lot of doubts about her," Lake says.

Bruce Nielsen, who picks up recycling for the city of Buffalo, is one of those men.

"No way -- not even close," he says during a phone interview after participating in a Post poll. "Where do I start? I guess her views on the war, and the fact that I'm afraid if we pull out of Iraq too fast, she'll bring the war over here." Clinton now favors a phased troop redeployment starting immediately.

And then: "I just don't like her personality. She wears the pants in that family. She's pushy. The way Bill got caught [philandering] -- I think she should have left him. I pretty much lost respect for the woman.

"This has nothing to do with gender. I just don't like the woman."

So whom is he leaning toward?

He struggles with a name, and then turns from the phone to ask his wife: "What's the colored fella's name? Obama. Yeah, Obama, I like him.

"He's a good family man, strong family values. He respects people and he seems honest. Experience -- probably not as much as the others, but he's not afraid to get his hands dirty."

Retired physician Warren Emley is among the 40 percent of registered Independents in New Hampshire, and he came to a Rotary Club to give a listen to Mitt Romney.

He's still shopping across the field, but there's one candidate he's already rejected: Hillary Clinton.

"We'd have a dual presidency, and I don't like that," Emley says. "Bill had a good run, but now it's time for change." There's no question in his mind, he says, that "they have some secret agenda."

And then he lowers the ax: "I will never understand why she stayed with him, why she didn't walk away. This 'stand by your man' stuff. It doesn't fly with me."