(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Some adults in the United States believe their country might not be ready to embrace a woman as its head of state, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. 35 per cent of respondents think the fact that New York senator Hillary Rodham Clinton is a woman will hurt her if she becomes the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee this year.

Conversely, 24 per cent of respondents believe the fact that Rodham Clinton is a woman will help her, and 36 per cent say it will make no difference to voters.

When asked about the chances of Illinois senator Barack Obama, 26 per cent of respondents think the fact that he is an African-American will hurt him if he becomes the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee this year, 20 per cent believe it will help him, and 49 per cent say it will make no difference to voters.

On Jan. 19, fiction writer Stephen King endorsed Obama, saying, "We’ve had enough Bush Republicanism to last the country for a long time. (...) You can’t pump billions of dollars into a foreign war without it affecting the economy. (..) Obama has the least baggage of the two (Democratic frontrunners) and is willing to try new things. It wouldn’t be business as usual. Also it would do wonders for us in the world community to have a black man in the White House."

In American elections, candidates require 270 votes in the Electoral College to win the White House. In November 2004, Republican George W. Bush earned a second term after securing 286 electoral votes from 31 states. Democratic nominee John Kerry received 252 electoral votes from 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Bush is ineligible for a third term in office. The presidential election is scheduled for Nov. 4.

Polling Data

If Hillary Rodham Clinton is the Democratic Party nominee for president, do you think the fact that she is a woman will help her, hurt her, or won’t it make a difference to voters?

If Barack Obama is the Democratic Party nominee for president, do you think his being African-American will help him, hurt him, or won’t it make a difference to voters?

Source: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,515 American adults, conducted from Jan. 9 to Jan. 13, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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