What's a boomerette to do? Hillary? or Barack?

For many female Democrats of the Ms. generation, the opportunity to elect a woman as president is a dream come true. But some of those same women count the civil-rights struggles among the defining moments in their lives. And ever since Obama first appeared on the national stage at the Democratic convention more than three years ago, they have been attracted by his vision of hope and change.

Across Northern New Mexico, there are women in their 40s, 50s and 60s who say they are torn between the two Democratic candidates — and might not make their final decisions until Tuesday when they walk into the voting booth.

A lot of national polls suggest Obama is doing well among younger voters while Hillary is more popular with the older generation of Democrats, according to Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc. in Albuquerque.

But there is no data on the women in between — the boomerettes.

It's hard to predict how they will line up without watching the general election play out to its fullest, Sanderoff said, but, he suggested, "I would think the baby-boomer generation would be split between Obama and Clinton. Many of them are of a generation where they would love to see the first female president, while many others, who grew up in the '60s, maintain idealistic values and are inspired by Barack Obama's message."

His analysis is borne out in conversations with women from the Santa Fe area. "I am terribly conflicted," said Tamar Stieber, who works for the state's bill-drafting agency. "I prefer Obama's political style and the hope he represents. But I couldn't look myself in the mirror if I didn't vote for the first Democratic woman who has a real shot at the presidency. I frankly admire the Clintons, unlike so many other of my peers. They managed to swim among the sharks and come out with their limbs intact, if slightly bloodied."

Stieber, 52, said she doesn't mind the idea of Bill Clinton whispering in his wife's ear about the geopolitical crisis because, "I believe she has the wisdom to consider other people's advice but make her own independent choices."

Sherry Tippett, 55, a lawyer, said she's having "a hell of a time" deciding who to vote for. She's been a fan of Obama since the Democratic convention speech. "I read Audacity of Hope, and I love his passion for the U.S. Constitution, which is, as we all know, getting trampled badly these days. I was clear that I was going to vote for him six months ago, but then when I started talking to women I really respect (like Lt. Gov. Diane Denish) and think about the hard work Hillary has done for health care, her battles with the right wing, her experience and proven competence, I waffle."

Irenka Taurek, who recalls the civil-rights marches of the '60s, says she goes "back and forth all the time."

"For me, for a black man to become president is almost as exciting as it would be for woman," Taurek said, adding that she wouldn't necessarily feel disloyal voting for Obama. But, she said, "I would feel a sense of loss if she wasn't the one. And I would feel a sense of loss it he wasn't the one."

Taurek, who is in her early 70s, said when she moved to the United States after World War II, she identified more with African Americans than with the suffering of women, and "Obama stirs that old feeling."

In her mind, he also comes out ahead in the debate over change. "His change is somehow more believable," she said. "She's more status quo. The only newness is that she is a woman. He has something new, not because he is a black man, but because of who he is. There is something more to him as person."

Carol Johnson, who is black and a former New Yorker, said she is also torn. "I go back and forth," she said. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do."

Johnson, 65, said she does wish Bill Clinton would step back a little from the campaign. "The husband of the first female candidate should not be so visible," she said.

Although Ms. Magazine founder Gloria Steinem maintained, in a widely circulated opinion piece that first appeared in The New York Times, that sex is the bigger barrier for candidates, Johnson said she was not sure.

What concerns her — and a surprising number of other female baby boomers who vividly recall the assassinations of John Kennedy, Robert Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King — is the personal safety of both candidates.

"I have some concerns. There are some crazy people in this world. I would not like to see anything happen to either one of them. But people who symbolize change, disruption of the status quo, society does something to them negatively," Johnson said.

Rose Ortiz, 53, co-owner of the Chile Rojo bar in Chimayó, said her daughters would be "thrilled" to elect a woman, but she's impressed with both candidates. "I think both are really good. It's a hard choice and it's still early," she said.

Photographer Polly Brown, 65, readily admits, "I am torn." She is weighing the electability of the candidates because, "I just don't want to take a chance of the Democrats losing."

Brown said she thought Clinton was more of a polarizing figure. "I think she is enormously capable, enormously hardworking and enormously brilliant. But I really don't know whether she's electable.

"For some reason — and I never understood this — there is a visceral reaction against Hillary. I hear this from people I know who are Republicans, but I hear it from Democrats, and I hear it from women, which really bothers me."

She added that she thinks "Republicans will have a much more difficult time going after Obama."

Brown, who is working one of the polls in Pojoaque on Tuesday, said her husband is "adamant for Obama" because, "He just says he thinks Clinton is the same old, same old." But many of her friends are adamantly for Clinton, and "I don't want to argue with them because they are right in so many ways."

Although she's not pleased about Clinton's vote on the Iraq war, Brown said, "When I hear her talk about the issues, how to deal with them, I feel she's so ultimately got a handle on them. I don't feel that way always with Obama, but he comes across as a more unifying person."

"I want them both to win," she concluded.

Carmella Padilla, 44, a Santa Fe writer and a Democrat who comes from a prominent Republican family in the state, said one thing guiding her in her decision is a lesson learned from her grandfather, Manuel Lujan Sr., about judging a person by their character and values, rather than their party affiliation, race or gender.

When it became clear that Hillary was going to run, Padilla said she thought it would send a "wonderful message to the world about this country." But, as time went by, she decided, "I don't see a different kind of style. I don't necessarily see a different kind of representation I would want in the first woman president of the United States.

"She is highly intelligent, highly qualified, highly experienced and highly articulate, but she carries baggage."

At the same time, Padilla said, "I have really admired and been inspired by Sen. Obama since I heard him speak at the Democratic convention. He really represented a different kind of energy. It was a refreshing kind of presentation I had not seen before. I thought, wow, I've never been touched by a politician like this in my lifetime."

To those who say Obama lacks experience and just has a gift with words, she said, "To me there is great experience in doing what Obama has done in terms of transcending social and cultural values. That's experience in my mind. My God, presidents have advisers."

Padilla said she thinks the time will come to elect a woman to the presidency. "I wish it were now, if the candidate were right," she said, "but I would not favor a woman just because she is a woman."

Alice Monroney, 53, an artist and grandmother of a U.S. senator, who was born and raised in the Washington, D.C., area, said, "I am uncomfortable with Hillary Clinton and cannot put a practical finger on why. I will say that there is something that does not feel right to me about her. Maybe someday it will be clearer. She is polarizing, and that is of great concern to me. There are many that despise her, and I would so love to see a president that doesn't incite such anger. I want to see peace and wisdom. I am starting to think Obama may have the dignity we seek. I hope. I lean toward him.

"If Margaret Thatcher was running or Madeleine Albright, you might be able to talk me into a woman this time, but Hillary ... no, I don't think so. I won't vote for a woman for the sake of voting for a woman. I want the right person," she added.

Camilla Trujillo, an artist, massage therapist and herbalist from Española who was supporting John Edwards until he dropped out of the race, is now leaning toward Hillary. Obama is "a little too green," she said, although she would "consider him the next time around."

She said she doesn't think baby boomers have an issue with a woman as a candidate. "All the ones I know, we are very mother-identified. I don't think we have a problem of following a woman leader." While Bill Clinton "wasn't as good a president as he could have been," it wouldn't bother her that Bill and Hillary are working together, Trujillo, 51, said.

For artist Carol Mothner, 64, "it was my dream always to vote for and to have a woman president," but she said she has grown concerned about the role Bill Clinton is playing in his wife's campaign and about the arguments during the debates.

"I really am undecided. I can't believe I'm undecided. I can't believe I can go into the voting booth, have this woman I consider respectable as one of my choices and I wouldn't pull (the lever) for her. I've wanted this for very long time," she said. "I wish the candidates knew how much we agonize over this one single vote and how many hours we've spent talking about them with our friends. It's amazing."

Contact Anne Constable at 986-3022 or aconstable@sfnewmexican.com.