Glamour on the Hustings

The campaign advance man is a staple of modern political folklore. He is the scout for the candidate's wagon train, as well as a political strategist, tour director and carnival barker. It is his exigent assignment to schedule a rally to his candidate's best advantage, drum up enthusiasm, charm local party leaders and, when the occasion demands, get tough with local officials. Traditionally he has been a pugnacious type like Jerry Bruno, who served as point man for both John and Robert Kennedy. In their collaborative book, The Advance Man, Speechwriter Jeff Greenfield describes Bruno: "He is built like a fire hydrant; he has the tact of a pulling guard; when confronted by a local official standing between him and the prospect of a large turnout, he can be something less than pleasant."

Two of Senator Edmund Muskie's most prominent advance men bear no resemblance whatsoever to fireplugs or pulling guards. They are Marsha Pinkstaff, 28, a former Miss Indiana, and Rose Economou, 25, an attractive brunette from Chicago. Instead of resorting to bulldozer tactics, they rely on friendly persuasion in their dealings with crustaceous pols. If Muskie's appearances in New Hampshire and Florida are any indication, the young women's methods are highly effective.

Says Mike Casey, director of Muskie's 15-man advance team: "When we were mulling over the idea of having women do some of our advance work, the pros all said they were too soft for the job. They said women couldn't deal with politicians. I've found just the contrary. Advance men from Washington face instant hostility from local politicians, but those same politicians can't resist a female."

Winsome as they may be, the women are anything but window dressing. Each usually works a 7 a.m.-to-10 p.m. day, living solely on savings and expenses. Each was given serious responsibility right at the start. It fell to Pinkstaff to organize the Jan. 7 Tampa rally round Muskie's bid in the Florida primary. She chose the landing site for the Senator's prop jet and rounded up the proper vehicles for Muskie, local officials, the press and TV camera crews. She masterminded the distribution of 14,000 invitations to the rally, then had fliers printed featuring Muskie's campaign theme, "A New Beginning."

Three days before the rally, she arranged for Jane Muskie to appear on two radio talk shows, ordered a thousand bright balloons, set up a poster party and personally asked school officials to urge students to attend the rally. The result of her efforts was a signal success for Muskie.

Economou's assignments have proved equally nagging. Despite Casey's elaborate manual of instructions, she says, "Every detail of a trip is a potential disaster." Ten minutes before Muskie was scheduled to speak in Manchester, N.H., the sound equipment went on the blink. Economou managed to scrounge up replacements with only seconds to spare.

On the Go. Both women came to their jobs with some political credentials. Born in Indianapolis, Pinkstaff is the daughter of a chemical company salesman. After graduating from Butler University in 1965, she joined Senator Birch Bayh's staff, served in Arthur Goldberg's campaign for Governor of New York in 1970. Last year she took charge of Bayh's fund-raising efforts in New York during his brief fling as a presidential aspirant, then asked to join Muskie's forces when Bayh dropped out.

Economou's father was a Greek-born baker, who died when she was twelve. She got her political schooling early in Chicago's South Side wards. She graduated from the University of Illinois in 1968 and attended Rutgers University's Eagleton Institute of Politics. In 1970 she worked on Joseph Duffey's unsuccessful bid for a Connecticut Senate seat, and was taken with Muskie's celebrated election-eve speech.

Pinkstaff, the more glamorous of the two, draws assignments like Florida. She frankly concedes: "I think there's a definite advantage to being female. There is an element of surprise caused by the arrival of a woman, and since the people I work with are mostly men, I don't doubt that it helps to be attractive." On the other hand, says Casey, "Rose has an ethnic background, and relates well to small-town people. She understands their problems." Economou is philosophical about her role: "I guess I remind everyone of their kid sister."

While the women have experienced very few problems with lechery, they also have very little time for dates. "This job is a real handicap to your social life," Pinkstaff explains, "but I'm not complaining." On her infrequent runs to Washington, Economou was repeatedly asked out by a young man, but simply was unable to find the time. Says she: "Finally he asked, 'What does Ed Muskie have that I don't?' And then he stopped calling."

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