The last female vice-presidential candidate was a disastrous campaigner and the Democratic ticket was defeated in a landslide by Ronald Reagan.



Geraldine Ferraro: 'There are a lot of women who are disaffected by how Hillary was treated' Photo: GETTY IMAGES

A disgruntled supporter of Senator Hillary Clinton during the Democratic primary, Mrs Ferraro wrote on Friday: 'Without Hillary being the nominee it's really quite equally as important. There are a lot of women who are disaffected by how Hillary was treated by the media, by how she was treated by the Obama campaign … not speaking up when sexism raised its ugly head in the media."

However amid the enthusiasm among Republicans about the boldness shown by Senator John McCain in choosing Mrs Palin as his running mate, Mrs Ferraro provides a salutary tale.

Her excitable comments, submitted on a Fox News blog, and her claims during the primary that Senator Barack Obama's popularity was down to his skin colour, showed the ungainliness that marked her campaign 24 years ago.

Jim Clyburn, the third-ranking Democrat in Congress, recalled her on Friday as "a disaster as a running mate".

He told ETV Radio in his home state South Carolina: "As a campaigner, she was absolutely awful. And so I just think that it is very risky for McCain to do this, but it may be all he has left."