I want to tell you my history like a woman.  Always, always, always, I said that the woman have the power.  My husband always said to me this: "if the woman governed this world the world end in a big war, because when one woman don't like the other woman it's the end of the world." 

My history started 12 years ago. Twelve years ago I'm pregnant with my third child.  Different to other woman I want another boy.  But surprised the doctor told me it's a girl.  In this moment, my world change because I need to prepare my daughter to compete in the man world.  Every day I said to her the woman are better than the man in business, etc. She always asks these questions:  Mami, can I be one day President of United States? I said to her Yes.  When Hillary start to run for President my daughter went crazy about this, she wrote letters, made campaigns in the school with other girls, many activities.  When Hillary lost we cry.  She cry for Hillary and I cry for her.  We waiting for Obama make Hillary VP, but another surprised he announce Biden. My daughter cried again, because we lost our opportunity the see a woman in the big position.  A dream position for a woman!

One month later, McCain announce Sarah Palin for his running VP.  I was in shock, a Republican woman in the ticket.  When my daughter come for school she was crazy and said to me, “Mami it is not Hillary, but it’s another woman.” I explain to her the different points of view about Hillary and Sarah. She listened to me carefully, after that she told me this:  but Mami you always told me, "Always remember that you born woman and you will die a woman and you can’t change that." And after than she told me "I'm sure you will vote for this woman, because she is a woman and you can’t change that and you will open one door for my future.” Please tell me your opinion.

Thanks so much for writing and I think there are so many people who are having the exact same conversation that you are having. Palin is certainly a challenge to the overall idea of women's equality. However, as you explained...her symbolism will be outweighed by her politics and thus will do more harm than good to women's equality.

Symbolically, I think we do have to honor Palin — in many ways her nomination is a result of feminism—showing that women can do what men can do. However, her candidacy also reveals something more unsettling — how women are used and under minded. The Republicans are banking on her being treated with kid gloves — that we don't actually expect women to accomplish things or we lower our expectations for them, at least when it comes to more serious issues. I think that is condescending. If she can do what men can do, I think that we have to raise our standards and demand that we know where she stands politically. I also think that we aren't hypocrites if we remind people that feminism has never been about a handful of women achieving but all women.

— Amy