by Evie Stone

The latest Lifetime poll of women likely voters was released this afternoon (with the excellent mylifetime.com subhed: "Ladies share their thoughts on the presidential nominees, the issues, and the first woman president").

The poll indicates that the women's vote will be close — there's no dramatic advantage for either candidate just yet (the numbers show Obama with 49%, McCain with 38%, and 10% of women still undecided). And the majority of women say their vote wouldn't be influenced if one of the candidates chose a female running mate — though Obama would get a bigger bounce (29%) from choosing a woman than McCain would (15%).

As for the residual effects of the bitter Democratic primary, 18% of former Hillary supporters say they will vote for McCain. But only 21% of the women polled blame sexism for Clinton's loss; a combined 65% blame Clinton's campaign strategy or "who she is and what she stands for." 69% think Hillary's 2008 campaign will make it easier for other women to run for President in the near future.

And in what we suppose is the female equivalent of the "who would you rather have a beer with?" question, more women say they would like to carpool with Obama (51%) than with McCain (31%). They'd also rather vacation with the Obama family (49%) than with the McCains (26%). Though, in fairness, the Obamas do take an annual trip to Hawaii...