WASHINGTON - George Bush in earrings." That's how Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski described Sarah Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate, at a recent Obama campaign rally.
Over the past few weeks, in a strategy that has generated little national comment, Barack Obama's advisers have increasingly put female Democratic officials, including Mikulski, out front. Their more prominent role, as the face of the campaign on television and at public events, is designed to counter Palin's appeal and reach out to undecided voters, most of whom are women, while avoiding the charges of sexism that have been lodged against Palin's male critics.
Mikulski, 72, makes it clear there's no love lost between her and the man who chose Palin, even though they are longtime colleagues. She and John McCain served in the House of Representatives together and won election to the Senate on the same day in 1986.
"If John McCain becomes president, I would feel terrible," says Mikulski.
As the first woman elected to the Senate in her own right, Mikulski is an obvious ambassador to female voters. Her urban, ethnic roots and popularity among working-class whites also make her a valuable surrogate in blue-collar communities, where the national ticket is weak.
Mikulski, a seasoned campaigner, has clearly warmed to her emerging part in the presidential contest. During a recent interview in her Senate office, she quips that everyone is fascinated by Palin's "pit-bull one-liners," but "we're in the pits because of their bull."
It's a retort likely to be heard often in coming weeks. Mikulski has already shared the podium with Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden, at a recent northern Virginia rally, and expects to hit the road again once Congress completes work on financial bailout legislation.
She campaigned aggressively for Hillary Clinton during the primaries and now strongly supports Obama, but she gave an admiring assessment of the Republican Party's overnight sensation.
"She's new and she's feisty," says the senator, who knows about feisty, and, like Palin, got her start in local government - on the Baltimore City Council in the 1970s. Palin "is grass roots. I think she has a real ear for what people are thinking and feeling. I think the 'hockey mom' resonates."
Mikulski, who drew more votes than any statewide candidate in history in her re-election in 2004, can also recognize raw talent in politics, and she sees it in Palin.
