Jack Nicholson, Michael Douglas, Wesley Clark, and Steven Rattner are each supporting Hillary Clinton for president. They don't particularly care if you know, nor do they care about the baggage she comes with — her husband being only the most obvious. To these Hillary men, their choice of candidate is a badge of pride. But it raises the question: Where are the rest of them?

For starters, the Clinton–Obama fault line is more or less generational. What younger guys may see as her autocratic schoolmarm demeanor is, to others, an appealing seniority: In a recent poll, men 50 and older supported her over Obama by 48 to 27 percent, whereas men under 50 favored him 44 to 35 percent. Clearly, for the younger set, coming out for Hillary — whether they're sitting in the board room or around the poker table — can be a little tricky. "Announcing it is not a way to win any popularity contests," said a 30-something New York power lawyer and admitted-but-anonymous Hillary man. "But there's something about Obama's whole hope-for-the-future thing that got beaten out of me 5,000 billable hours ago. What I like about Hillary is that the next four years aren't really going to involve a radical break with the last, oh, 20."

This much is true: A real Hillary man is stalwart. He makes decisions and sticks to them, much like his candidate. Pundits knock Clinton for being tough, cold, and impersonal — but that's exactly what gets some male hearts racing. This is not strictly an American thing, either: See Thatcher, Margaret, aka the Iron Lady. (But, tellingly, can you name Thatcher's husband? Or how about Mr. Angela Merkel?) "Hillary is a real fighter," says former ambassador and steadfast Dick Cheney nemesis Joe Wilson. "What we see in her is what we see in each other." Many of those men declared for Clinton early in the game, before Obama was even a twinkle in the voter's eye. But now that Obama is leading the delegate count and the popular vote, not to mention the press-plane and Facebook primaries, it's gut-check time — especially after former Billary man Bill Richardson's defection, which could pave the way for even more turncoat superdelegates.

Then again, Nicholson — alpha man emeritus — came out for Clinton just a couple of months ago, via YouTube. Jack wouldn't explain his endorsement for this article — maybe he's less stalwart than he'd like to think — but his video, a montage of movie clips, includes a revealing tidbit from A Few Good Men. "There is nothing on this earth sexier," he tells Tom Cruise at Gitmo, "than a woman that you have to salute in the morning." But how enthralled with a woman can you be if you're never seen with her?

Fact is, though, we're not voting for just a woman. We're voting — or not — for this woman. And she's earned support from nearly 30 retired generals and admirals — who, at least in this instance, aren't hiding behind a don't-ask-don't-tell wall of silence. They cite her experience, particularly in foreign policy. "I've been with Senator Clinton when she has been with our military men and women," said former chairman of the Joint Chiefs Hugh Shelton when he endorsed her in March. "I know from those experiences that she understands the demands and sacrifice of military life."