U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, served Tuesday as the Democratic surrogate taking on the Republican ticket’s  vice presidential nominee, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

The congressman said her selection showed that McCain “buckled to the right wing of his party,’’ especially since Palin had “zero experience in foreign affairs.”

“There’s no way you can dress up that record, even with a lot of lipstick,’’ Carnahan said, igniting cheers.

Carnahan’s comments allowed the Democratic vice presidential nominee, Sen. Joe Biden, to avoid any direct jabs at Palin, and instead focus on the GOP nominee for president, John McCain.

The same wasn’t true of the Democratic presidential nominee, Barack Obama, who ignited GOP ire Tuesday over his own “lipstick on a pig” comment.