Swift signs on to lead the defense of Palin's record

Their similar backgrounds come into play

"TRUTH SQUAD" LEADER Some observers said there is a problem with the Jane Swift/Sarah Palin comparison: Swift was never seen as a success.

She played basketball for her small-town team. Her husband's career took a back seat to her political ambitions. She became the first female governor of her state and gave birth while holding office. As governor, she headed up her state's National Guard.

She's Jane Swift.

Citing the remarkable similarities in their biographies, the former acting governor of Massachusetts this week signed up as a leader of Republican efforts to defend the record of Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin. Swift, 43, was tapped by Republican presidential nominee John McCain to lead a "truth squad" defending his 44-year-old vice presidential pick.

"When issues of opportunities for women and for mothers are being discussed, I feel like I can say something that helps put these issues in the proper perspective so that my daughters aren't fighting these battles 20 years from now," Swift said in a phone interview between her various TV and radio appearances yesterday.

"It's disappointing that we're still not to the point where we can deal appropriately with gender questions in politics," she added. "We really should be able to talk about Governor Palin's accomplishments without people raising on TV whether or not she's capable of doing the job."

Political observers said yesterday that it made sense for the McCain campaign to reach out to Swift because of her personal experience as a female chief executive. But some also pointed out a problem with the analogy: Swift was never regarded as a success.

"She was one who juggled motherhood and governing and didn't prove to be such a good juggler," said Jeff Berry, a professor of political science at Tufts University. "And so what is the parallel that she can draw out in defense of Palin? That it's really difficult?"

As an accidental governor - the second lieutenant governor in a row in Massachusetts to take over when the governor left to pursue an ambassadorship - the youthful Swift had difficulty establishing her credibility with the public, the Democratic Legislature, and even leaders of her own party. She bowed out of a potential election contest with Mitt Romney, who won the office, in 2002.

Her limited support was weakened by work-life controversies - using a public helicopter to get home to her family in North Adams and using aides to baby-sit her daughter, a conflict that forced her to pay an Ethics Commission fine.

"Jane Swift showed that in the public eye, there is a red line and you'd better not cross it. That red line is having taxpayers pay for your baby sitter. Or pay for your helicopter," said Elizabeth Sherman, who founded the Center for Women in Politics and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and is now a lecturer at George Washington University.

Palin is already facing some similar questions. The Washington Post this week examined travel expenses she has claimed for her children and husband and expenses claimed for time in their home in Wasilla, 600 miles from the state capital, Juneau.

Swift spent much of yesterday making media appearances criticizing Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama for describing Republicans' message of change with the adage: "You can put lipstick on a pig. It's still a pig." Swift led the Republican charge that it was an echo of Palin's joke during her convention speech, naming the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull: "Lipstick."

"It was a comment that obviously people in the audience and the press interpreted to be directed at Governor Palin," said Swift. "I interpreted it that way. I found it offensive."

What else does Swift consider over the line?

Questions about whether Palin could be effective as a vice president with five children, one of whom has special needs; speculation on blogs that her baby was not her own but her daughter's; the assertion that she attempted to ban books; and reporting about the MySpace page of her daughter's fiancé.

Swift, who has been consulting for educational businesses, with stints teaching at Williams College, declined to discuss her ambitions, but political observers said she may be angling for a post in a possible McCain administration.

Peter G. Torkildsen, chairman of the Massachusetts GOP, said Swift's support illustrates the conservative vice presidential nominee's appeal to more moderate Republicans (Swift supports abortion rights, for example).

"She's seen firsthand the challenge of balancing family and being a governor at the same time," he said. "Certainly she can empathize with Governor Palin right off the bat."