WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Former NBA star Charles Barkley told CNN Tuesday he is supporting Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, for the Democratic presidential nomination, but said neither him nor Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-New York will likely be elected president.

"I am going with Sen. Barack Obama," Barkley told CNN's Wolf Blitzer. "I like him a lot. I respect him. I really think he'd make a fantastic president."

But Barkley, who is black, questioned whether the American people are ready to elect either an African-American or a female to be the next commander-in-chief.

"I do not think they are ready for it," Barkley said when asked whether he thought Americans would vote for an African-American to be president. The former NBA star also went on to say he did not think Americans would vote for a woman. "That's why I don't think Sen. Clinton can win, either."

"But that's why I say the next two years, America's going to really get a chance to show their true colors if they can look past Barack being black or [nor] Clinton being a woman," he added.