Will the Losers Rebound, Try Again, or Retire?

Very different futures await the two candidates who don't reach the White House, watchers say, with Barack Obama viewed as a future White House candidate, Hillary Clinton seen as a likely party leader in the Senate, and John McCain expected to retire in 2010. If Hillary doesn’t win, and campaigns hard for Obama, she’ll likely maintain her rep—and the top congressional job may be hers.

A losing Obama would continue to ascend, Reuters reports, and at age 54 would still be a young candidate even after two Clinton terms. As for McCain, he’d be certain to keep fighting to keep Americans in Iraq were he sent back to the Capitol—but only for another two years, after which he’d be expected to retire at age 74. (More Barack Obama stories.)