NEW YORK - Philipina Heintzman, 81, drove 80 miles across the South Dakota prairie to experience history in the making: a woman running for president, something she never dreamed as a child that she would live to see.

That event, a Hillary Rodham Clinton rally in Bath on Thursday, also marked history unraveling.

As Clinton's prospects sink in the Democratic race, Heintzman and many women like her are feeling the poignant letdown of seeing the first woman with a strong chance at the presidency fall short.

"It would hurt my feelings a lot because I think she should be No. 1; she should be president," Heintzman said of Clinton's odds against rival candidate Barack Obama. "Give a woman a chance to do something good."

From young feminist activists to the grandmothers who embrace Clinton at her campaign events, many women who voted in large numbers for the former first lady during the primaries have begun mourning the turn of events. They know their dream of electing a female president this year may not come to pass -- and wonder when it ever will.

"For us, getting a woman elected is major," said Laurine Glynn, 72, of New York City. ''We've waited, fought a lot for this. I do worry that my generation won't see a female president."

"Women are feeling a lot of sadness, disappointment and some anger as they look back at what happened in this race," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.

Women -- especially older white women -- have been at the center of Clinton's electoral base. During the primaries, she bested Obama among women 52 percent to 45 percent. Among women older than 65, Clinton won by 61 percent to Obama's 34 percent.

Obama advisers note that he defeated Clinton among women in at least 12 states during the primary contest, in part because of overwhelming support for his candidacy among black women. Obama would be the first black president.

And among women younger than 30, Obama beat Clinton overall by a margin of 56 percent to 43 percent -- suggesting that they were more inspired by Obama's message of hope and political change than they were by the prospect of electing one of their own.

Paula Horwitz, 84, of Pittsburgh, said some younger women "just don't understand. They'll elect a man, and the men will keep on telling the women what to do."

For many women, a Clinton loss would bring questions for the future: Has the former first lady blazed a path, making it easier for the next wave of female candidates? Or has she merely shown how difficult it will be? And who might succeed her?

"What Hillary has done -- win, lose or draw -- has permanently changed the picture," says Marie Wilson, president of the White House Project, which trains women to run for office. "Next time, we're not going to have to prove that the public will vote for a woman. We won't have to prove competency. She has succeeded at that level."