Babalú from Cuba writes:

I'm still a bit in awe from Palin's speech last night. Those of us that caught it live witnessed history. I've no qualms about stating this, though: Sarah Palin will most assuredly be the first woman president of the United States someday.

From France, Tara Bradford writes in Paris Parfait:

McCain's curious pick of Palin as his running mate really has to make one wonder about his judgment. Palin--a governor for only two years--previously was the mayor of a town of less than 8,000 people. She already is embroiled in a scandal in her home state. And just last month she said she didn't understand what a vice president does.

There are many Republican politicians who are better qualified vice-presidential candidates, including Kay Bailey Hutchinson. For that matter, most of us would be more qualified to be vice president than Palin. ... Does McCain really think the lingering few Clinton supporters and independents who haven't been won over by Obama would vote for him, simply because his vice-presidential pick is a woman? How deluded is the man?

Laila Lalami of Morocco writes inTrain Wreck:

It's obvious she's been selected more for her life story than for her meager domestic credentials. As for her foreign policy knowledge, I'd like to see someone ask her about the nuclear non-proliferation treaties or the difference between a Sunni and a Shia or where the Green Line falls or how she plans to handle relations with Pakistan.

Nidhi, one half of the blogging team NoMinnow, from India blogs:

If there were more gun toting, child-bearing women with Sarah Palin's body, I am sure there will be more Republican men too--so it's time more right-leaning women go Sarahesque! The onus on women is huge since they impact society and spending.

I am for love, marriage, God and they all involve discipline, commitment and responsibility. And that one can have all that and a career and look great and still be a woman might be a revelation to the angry women seeking liberation who are too manly to be comforting, too angry to be soothing, too loud to be elegant and too liberal to maintain tradition and equanimity.

So work on it instead of trying to prove your worth by being a social groupie or a socialite with a large roster of conquests. Be Sarah.

Redemption Blues from the United Kingdom writes:

To counteract McCain's negatives, she had to be relatively young, and she probably had to be a woman. In a campaign likely to be dominated by visuals as well as visions, it also helps that Palin has the looks of a former beauty-queen. ... I for one hope that disillusioned Hillary-ites won't vent their frustration in a protest vote that would end up doing more harm than good.

Zeinobia from Egypt writes:

You must not forget that the United States is currently an invader of an Arab country. Sarah, on contrary to [democratic vice-presidential candidate] Biden, has no foreign policy experience, already her local experience is debatable as short. Still, I believe foreign policies are not put by the president or his vice alone; there are advisors for this mission. She won't be Dick Cheney for sure. Palin will be no different from the rest of the GOP in foreign policy.

Saudi Arabia-based blogger Nzingha writes:

When McCain announced his VP choice ... I wasn't familiar with her due to her political positions or government experience. I was familiar with her because ... I'm a mom of five children as well, [including] a five-month-old son with Down Syndrome and I know the extra commitment one must put forth. Not one of my houses compares to the White House and being the first Lady of Mr. Man it is not as demanding as being a VP but I still can't find enough time in the day to do all that I want and need to do. I'm a mother and I think all mothers have these thoughts and feelings.

As a woman I had to bring myself back to the reality of all working mothers. If we start to question the ability of one woman's capability of managing her career and her family life exactly where does that question lead us?

This especially holds true in a country like America that chants about the equality of women and their right to choose. ... For any to question the choice of one single woman, namely Palin, then all women within American society become questioned on their choices to work. ... Her ability to do the job isn't a question about her womb, it is a question about her political positions, experience, and plans for her country if elected.

Zohra Moosa, a Canadian woman living in London, writes:

What hope now of dissuading those Democrat women who were already planning on voting for McCain in protest over Obama's nomination over Clinton?

Is it more important to have a woman, any woman, in the White House than a pro-choice President that is a man? No. Don't do it America--a woman does not a feminist politics make!

Miriam Leitao from Brazil writes:

The problem with Sarah Palin lies in two other areas. First, she seems to believe that she is often following God's plan as a public official--for example, by supporting construction of a new pipeline in Alaska and the teaching of creationism in public schools. This theocratic way of thinking was already outdated five centuries ago. Religion is a private matter, until the ruler starts to think about his/her beliefs as a reason of state.

The second problem is that she supports inactivity on climate change and environmental protection, ending hope that the Republican ticket might include candidates with contemporary ideas on issues that threaten the whole planet. Palin's moose hunting, although repulsive, only illustrates primitive behavior. The real danger is less to the Alaskan moose herd than to our common planetary destiny, which needs a modicum of precaution, not four more years of White House neglect. Elections are a national matter, but in this case more than in any other, U.S. citizens' choices might affect us all.