"John McCain shook up the US presidential race yesterday with the surprising announcement that he had picked little-known Sarah Palin, the 44-year-old governor of Alaska, as his vicepresidential running mate.

"She's exactly who I need," said Mr McCain as he appeared with Ms Palin at a rally in the swing state of Ohio, where she made a direct appeal to supporters of Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama's defeated primary rival.

"Hillary Clinton left 18m cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling in America," she said, referring to the number of votes cast for Mrs Clinton in the primaries. "It turns out the women of America aren't finished yet and we can shatter that glass ceiling once and for all."

But Ms Palin's political background is a far cry from Mrs Clinton's. A hunting enthusiast and lifetime member of the National Rifle Association, the mother of five is opposed to abortion, has a son in the army and a husband who is a part-Inuit champion snowmobiler.

Mr Obama's campaign seized on Ms Palin's inexperience - the former mayor and beauty queen has been in the governor's office for less than two years - to argue that her presence on the Republican ticket would neutralise Mr McCain's perceived strength on national security.

Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton said: "Today, John McCain put the former mayor of a town of 9,000 with zero foreign policy experience a heartbeat away from the presidency."

Obama officials highlighted health concerns surrounding Mr McCain by noting that yesterday was his 72nd birthday, aiming to stoke debate about Ms Palin's readiness to become commander-in-chief. She was chosen ahead of several better-known contenders, including Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts.

Mrs Clinton congratulated Ms Palin on her "historic nomination" but said her policies and those of Mr McCain would take America in the "wrong direction".

The high-risk choice promised to inject excitement into the campaign and help seize attention from Mr Obama, hours after his acceptance speech to more than 80,000 people in Denver. It also guarantees the US will elect either its first black president or its first woman vice-president." (Andrew Ward, Financial Times, August 30, 2008)