Battle Begins for the Hillary Vote

As Republicans gather in St Paul for this week's convention, the choice of Alaska governor Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate has highlighted one of the key themes of the next 10 weeks' campaigning: the chase for the female voter.

Palin's nomination is aimed at exploiting a perceived weakness in the Democratic camp, where millions of supporters of Hillary Clinton's doomed run for the nomination might be open to switching sides.

A mother of five and religious conservative, Palin made a deliberate pitch for women in her acceptance speech at an introductory rally in Ohio, noting the proximity of the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage in America. Then she heaped praise upon the first woman to appear on a major party national presidential ticket - Democrat Geraldine Ferraro in 1984 - and also Clinton. She praised her 'determination and grace' in her campaign against Barack Obama then borrowed one of Clinton's most powerful lines: 'Hillary left 18 million cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America.'

Palin then cast her own nomination firmly in the light of women's rights, following on from the ground broken by Ferraro and Clinton. 'It turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all,' she said.

It remains unclear how successful the ploy will be. Last week at the Democratic convention in Denver the Obama campaign was itself careful to woo former Clinton voters, especially women. The effort was aided by Clinton herself, who gave a strong speech backing Obama and attacking McCain.

Certainly the issues alone would seem to suggest that Palin will have a tough time persuading wavering Democratic women on to her side. She is a staunch evangelical Christian who is firmly anti-abortion, even in extreme cases.

She is pro-gun and is a lifelong hunter and member of the conservative National Rifle Association. She is in favor of drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska, a hot-button topic condemned by many environmentalists. She also opposes gay marriage and is sympathetic to teaching creationist theories alongside evolution in schools.

However, Republicans are betting that Palin's life story will be fertile ground to make a pitch for women, especially the suburban 'soccer moms' who have proven a key demographic in recent elections. Palin began her speech in Ohio - the first time many Americans had even heard of the obscure governor - by saying she had been 'just your average hockey mom in Alaska'. Her history as a hardworking mother of five children, one of whom has Down's syndrome, is also seen as a potentially powerful message to women voters.

Palin is set to hit the campaign trail hard, stumping for McCain and highlighting her own unlikely rise to the summit of Republican politics. Whatever the potential for success in her appeal to women voters, she has already sparked great expectation among activists.

Her youth, her former beauty queen looks and the sheer surprise of her choice has created a buzz in a party that has had trouble generating much excitement. 'It was very, very clever. It was a bold and exciting choice,' said Republican strategist Angela Marie Buchanan.

Palin's conservative views have also addressed one of the key problems McCain has faced in recent months as he has secured his party's nomination. The religious right has long distrusted him, despite his own social conservatism. Picking Palin will go a long way to ensuring conservatives turn out in large numbers for McCain. That in itself is vital as they make up a large amount of the party's most committed activists who are key to any 'get out the vote' operation on election day itself.

The move prompted James Dobson, founder of the evangelical group Focus on the Family, to heap praise on the choice. Dobson, who initially said he would not vote for McCain, called Palin 'an outstanding choice.'

He added that it would help evangelicals back McCain as it made it likely that he would appoint conservatives to the Supreme Court, something that would increase the chance of making abortion illegal.