Clinton bloc becomes the prize for Nov. 4

By JODI KANTOR

updated 5:40 a.m. ET June 7, 2008

Now that a would-be first female president is ending her quest for the White House, the race is more about women than ever before.

With Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s ending her campaign for the Democratic nomination, the presumptive nominees are moving to claim her followers, especially her signature bloc, the millions of women who cast primary votes for her.

Senator Barack Obama’s campaign is positioning itself as the rightful heir to these Democratic voters. Senator John McCain’s strategists are plotting to convert them, particularly older women who are skeptical of Mr. Obama’s thin résumé. Even the Democratic National Committee chairman is avidly trying to make up for accusations that he allowed sexism in the race to pass unchallenged.

“The wounds of sexism need to be the subject of a national discussion,” the chairman, Howard Dean, said in an interview. “Many of the most prominent people on TV behaved like middle schoolers” toward Mrs. Clinton.

Postcampaign test
Many Clinton voters say that she will remain their leader, that she has created a lasting female constituency, a women’s electoral movement unlike any other. So with Mrs. Clinton ready to endorse Mr. Obama in a speech on Saturday, the vanquished candidate faces her first postcampaign test. Can she pivot millions of supporters in the direction of Mr. Obama, the candidate she just stopped denigrating?

“I don’t know any Hillary or feminist supporter who isn’t going to support Obama,” said Gloria Steinem, adding, however, that a stray few may write in Mrs. Clinton’s name on the November ballot.

The question, Ms. Steinem said, is the degree of support these followers will offer Mr. Obama, whether they will merely pull levers for him or apply some of the vast energy and generosity they did for Mrs. Clinton.

Not everyone agrees.

'Cussing'
Cynthia Ubaldo, 44, a Clinton supporter in Columbus, Ohio, just switched her registration from Democratic to independent and donated $10 to Mr. McCain. The endorsement on Saturday is a mandatory, empty gesture, Ms. Ubaldo said.

“I’m sure Hillary’s cussing Obama out to Bill and Chelsea as we speak,” she said.

Many of Mrs. Clinton’s female supporters have shared a metaphor to describe letting go of her candidacy. They say they are grieving. They admit shedding tears. And they refer to stages like “denial,” “anger” and “acceptance.”

350,000 e-mails since Tuesday
In keeping with this close bond, many supporters say they are less likely to transfer this heartfelt allegiance to Mr. Obama than to follow their hero’s cues.

The 350,000 e-mail messages that Mrs. Clinton received after soliciting supporters on Tuesday include “an overwhelming chorus of ‘We want you to continue to be our leader,’ ” said Ann Lewis, a Clinton adviser.

Beth Dozoretz, a top donor who said she knows and likes Mr. Obama, said, “Hillary is going to be helpful to him, and I’m going to help her be helpful to him.”

Many Clinton supporters say they will not be able to make their peace with the Obama nomination until they know Mrs. Clinton’s role on the ticket, in the campaign and in the party. Because Mr. Obama is unlikely to settle on a running mate right away, the question will remain unsettled for some time.

“It’s going to take more than a speech saying that Hillary has made great strides and that will help his children,” said Deborah Larkin, another longtime Clinton donor, referring to Mr. Obama’s comments on Tuesday night.

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