Photo: Obama's journey to White House

U.S. Republican vice-presidential candidate Alaska Governor Sarah Palin campaigns in Washington, Pennsylvania August 30, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- When Alaska governor Sarah Palin took center stage on the third night of the ongoing Republican National Convention in St Paul, Minnesota, Wednesday, she came under the full glare of world media's spotlights.

    A major reason for that is the historic implication that the 44-year-old politician will become the first woman vice president in U.S. history, if the Republicans win the general election in November.

    In the eyes of her supporters, an "American Dream" is in the making.

    Palin is also the first woman on a Republican presidential ticket, and the second woman to take a major U.S. party's vice presidential nomination.

    In 1984, Democratic presidential nominee Walter Mondale chose Congresswoman Geraldine Ferraro as his vice president nominee.

    Last week, another "American Dream" was fulfilled when Barrack Obama, senator of Illinois who was born to a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, became the first black man to clinch the presidential nomination of a major U.S. political party.

    In other words, no matter which party wins the general election, America will either have its first black president or first female vice president.

    Many people in the United States hailed the historic implications of Palin's and Obama's candidacies.

    Ferraro said the nomination of Palin could make a difference in the campaign.

    "There are a lot of women who are disaffected by how Hillary Rodham Clinton was treated" during her run in the Democratic primaries, Ferraro told Fox News.

    She said the choice of Palin is historic.

    "I've spent a lot of time over the last 24 years saying, 'Gosh, I wish I weren't the only one (woman) on a major party's presidential ticket, " said Ferraro.

    The historic symbolism was also evident when Obama accepted the Democratic nomination on Aug. 28, the 45th anniversary of the late civil rights icon Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech outlining the Nobel Peace Prize winner's aspirations for black people.

    In comparison, even a half-century ago, most Southern blacks weren't registered to vote because of barriers erected by white racists.

    However, although the political rise of Palin and Obama did show the improvement of gender and racial equality in the United States, the "American Dream" is still elusive for many Americans, analysts said.

    Although different people will have a different answer for what constitutes the "American Dream," the basic meaning is that America is a land of "opportunities," where anyone can eventually rise to the top by working hard, no matter his background, sex, or skin color.

    Both major U.S. political parties may have a lot of examples of that.