WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Sen. George McGovern of South Dakota says he'd like to see Sen. Hillary Clinton in the White House next year, but he isn't sure the country is ready to elect a woman.

McGovern, the unsuccessful 1972 Democratic nominee against Richard Nixon, has known Clinton for decades, since she helped campaign for him. He endorsed her early on in her campaign.

"I have a feeling that in this country where we're at today in our thinking, it's going to be harder to elect a woman than to elect a black man," he told The Associated Press. "I wish that weren't true ... I'd love to see Hillary as president."

He says he occasionally chats with men who don't think a woman is ready for the responsibility.

"Some guy will say, 'Well, I think that's too big a job for a woman, I don't think she can handle those terrorists,"' he said, adding that he seldom hears the same thing said about black men.

"I think we've never had a woman so well qualified that's on the national scene," he said of Clinton.

McGovern, who centered his 1972 campaign on his opposition to the Vietnam War, has been critical of the Iraq war, calling for the impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney earlier this year. He said both Clinton and her Democratic rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, have reasonable plans for ending the conflict.

He says he likes Obama but didn't know much about him when he endorsed Clinton last year.

"I think very highly of him now," McGovern said.