House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said women won't suffer a "step back" if Democrat Hillary Clinton loses her presidential bid, and rejected the idea of sexism in the presidential campaign.

    Clinton, 60, a New York senator, is "bigger than all of it" and has shown "courage," Pelosi, a California Democrat, said in an interview with Judy Woodruff broadcast on the PBS NewsHour last night.

    "A woman is down to the wire in contention for the presidential nominee," Pelosi said. "You know she still may win this - but whatever the outcome, new ground has been broken, and it won't be left broken. It will be built upon."

    Pelosi, 68, said the Democrats' delegate-selection process, not the popular vote, will determine whether Illinois Senator Barack Obama or Clinton wins the party's nomination this year.

    "The person who has the most delegates becomes the nominee of the party," Pelosi said. "It's not been about the popular vote."

    Clinton, who trails Obama in delegates, is pressing for consideration of popular votes in Florida and Michigan, which she won after the Democratic National Committee stripped the states of their delegates as punishment for moving up their primaries in violation of party rules. Clinton contends that she would hold a popular-vote lead if the two states' results were counted.

    Pelosi said in the interview that delegates from both states will ultimately be seated at the Democrats' national convention in Denver in August under a system that will be accepted by both candidates.

    Racial Divisions

    "It will be done in a way that I think is signed off on by both of the candidates, Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, each of the states, Michigan and Florida, and also by the Democratic National Committee," Pelosi said.

    Pelosi said she isn't concerned about racial divisions that appear to be reflected in votes in some primary states, and that the outcome of the Oregon primary - where Obama overwhelmingly won white voters - provided further evidence that the Illinois senator can appeal to both black and white voters.

    "Should he become the nominee of our party with the message of change and what that change means for working families in America, I think those same people will see that their interests are served by a Democratic president," Pelosi said. "It needs to be attended to, but I don't think it's a worry."

    Kentucky and Oregon

    Clinton and Obama split the May 20 primaries, with Clinton winning Kentucky by 36 percentage points and Obama capturing Oregon by 17 points.

    Obama has 1,962 delegates, according to an Associated Press tally, putting him 64 delegates shy of the 2,026 needed to clinch the nomination. The results from yesterday's primaries left Clinton with 1,779 delegates, or 247 short.

    Obama also continues to pick up superdelegates. He's gotten eight so far this week, including West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd on May 19 and Connecticut Representative Joseph Courtney yesterday. That brings his superdelegate tally to 308.5 compared with Clinton's 280.5. In the past two weeks, he has outpaced Clinton in such endorsements by better than 10 to 1.

    Pelosi predicted that Democrats will win the White House because of the contrast between the Democratic nominee and presumptive Republican presidential standard-bearer John McCain, an Arizona senator.

    She reiterated her skepticism about Obama and Clinton running on the same ticket.

    "In all honesty, I do think it is not likely," Pelosi said.