Hillary's Ladies Of Leisure World

He says he did. And "I hope everybody who heard Bill the other day will vote the right way."

Perhaps. Not a lot of Republicans here ("I had to sneak in," one John McCain voter says), though there are a number of Democrats who say they're voting for Barack Obama. Down the sidewalk from Caulton is a Leisure World couple campaigning for him with a handmade sign.

"It was a hard decision because I've been a feminist all my life," says Ruth Burgos-Sasscer. "He has a vision."

The people who love Hillary love her not for her vision but for her endurance. Obama -- they talk about him like he's a steak in need of more grill time. He's a "bright energetic young person," Caulton says, but he needs "a few more years of getting bashed about and learning the ropes." Who here at Leisure World, during the course of a good long life, hasn't been bashed about?

The highly personal criticisms of Clinton that you hear from folks elsewhere -- that she is too ambitious, that she stuck with her husband for the wrong reasons -- you don't hear that here. Instead what you hear about is her ability to keep her family together, her insistence on putting one foot in front of the other and getting everything done. Like a real woman.

"She's strong, she's a survivor, she's got a plan for everything," says Vivian Hirschberg, 82, who walks out of the Crystal Ballroom, where the voting is going on, carrying her oxygen tank in a black bag decorated with a Hillary sticker. And the marital troubles?

"We're married 64 years," Vivian says, putting her hand on her husband Hy's arm. "I hope he never cheated, but I don't know if I -- "

"Yes, you would, you like me too much," Hy interrupts.

"I don't think I would've kicked him out," she says. "He would've paid."

Hy tugs gently on the oxygen tubes descending from Vivian's nose. "Let's get out of here before you say any more," he says.

Over by the door, Wolf, in her Redskins scarf, sits with a friend after voting and they debate Hill and Bill and the way it's all gone down. They're sitting in green chairs next to the door, not far from the handwritten sign advertising the meal choices: Roast Beef, Roast Turkey With Dressing, Baked Salmon.

There's a lot to chew on. Clinton's not doing as well as her supporters had hoped. Lately, Obama has been cleaning her clock. Wolf says she loved Bill's speech the other night. Her friend, Amelia Jensen, 79, another Clinton supporter, says it was too long.