For all the talk of Senator Barack Obama’s (D-Ill.) race and his battle against Senator Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) for the crucial African-American vote, there’s been remarkably little talk of Clinton’s gender. This is surprising, because her gender might be a much greater problem in the general election than Obama’s race.

Hillary’s problem is not so much the fact that she is a woman as that she is perceived to be something highly negative and applied almost uniformly to women — a “bitch,” a term levied mostly, but not entirely, toward her by men. It’s an informal term, and not necessarily said aloud. The word is used for several reasons — she’s perceived as “cold and calculating” — someone who stayed with her philandering husband just because she wants power. One Web site declares, rather cleverly, “life’s a bitch. Don’t elect one.”

This is interesting, because I don’t think Hillary has behaved worse, or “bitchier,” than any of her male competitors. Rudy Giuliani announced his divorce from his second wife during a press conference — and she found out by watching it on TV. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) essentially sold his soul to the Bush administration, giving up his “maverick” status in order to be the early front-runner for the nomination. John Edwards has essentially been campaigning for the 2008 nomination since the day after the 2004 election, changing his political rhetoric at will. Senator Clinton is no less focused on the presidency than any of the other candidates, all of whom have been planning their campaigns for years in advance, as she has.

It seems, then, that Senator Clinton is being held to a double standard, or in any case, a different standard than her male competitors. She’s behaved politically much as the male presidential candidates have, and is judged differently — and negatively — for it. It seems that the Senator Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) model — playing the “grandmother” card, surrounding herself with children at the opening of the new Congress — seems to be more effective and palatable to male voters.

However, Senator Clinton’s record in Congress is one of bipartisan success— something almost entirely ignored in favor of personality judgment and her behavior during the health care fiasco of 1993-1994. The American people weren’t particularly keen on her taking over certain areas of policy, and Bill Clinton’s famous “two for one” comment before he was elected did not help matters.

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) won only 36 percent of the white male vote in 2004, essentially the same amount that Al Gore won in 2000. White males comprise a whopping 39 percent of the electorate, a percentage which is larger in swing states like Iowa and Ohio. The Democrats’ main failure in the past two elections was not holding their base together. Jews, African Americans and others still voted Democratic as reliably as they have in the past, but the party got crushed among white male voters — the same demographic who is likely to have a negative perception of Clinton due to her perceived “bitchiness.” This is a problem for Clinton if she wins the Democratic nomination — Democratic primary voters are disproportionately non-white and female compared to the general electorate.

A Rasmussen aggregate poll shows that among women, Hillary is viewed favorably by 59 percent and unfavorably by 36 percent. Among men, the numbers change drastically to 47 percent and 49 percent. That is a very significant gender gap. What the polls also show is that the gender gap favorability is greatest among people in the political center — in other words, independents. Those are the people that she needs to capture to win the presidency and avoid relegating the Democrats to a third term outside of the White House.

This raises the question of whether America truly is ready for a female president and what more has to be done so that it is. Hillary may lead the Democratic nomination. She may be favored by the political markets and odds-makers to win both the primary and general election. Unfortunately, she may not be able to conquer substantial negative perceptions for behaving no differently than any other male politician.