Pennsylvania Governor Eddie Rendell doubles down on his bet:

Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s gender could be as much of an obstacle for her presidential campaign as Sen. Barack Obama’s race may be for his, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell said Wednesday. In an interview on MSNBC, Rendell defended his recent comments to a newspaper editorial board in which he said some white Pennsylvanians are likely to vote against Obama because he is black. “Senator Clinton has the same handicap,” said Rendell, who has endorsed the former first lady. “There are some men who have said, ‘Look I have nothing against Senator Clinton but I don’t want to see a woman … in charge of the United States military as commander in chief.’”

Rendell’s earlier comment about race suggested “conservatives” might have a problem with a black president, but here he at least acknowledged he was talking about Democrats: “We’re talking about a very small percentage of voters, but some of these primaries are decided by a very small percentage of voters.”