WASHINGTON INSIGHT

ROOKIE MOVES: First-term Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) is playing a crafty game to climb into the Senate leadership. On May 4 she is co-chairing a Democratic dinner that annually raises several million dollars for House and Senate candidates. She also will head the Women’s Council, a Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee unit that funnels contributions to female candidates. . . . “Boxer is clearly positioning herself to chair the DSCC in the next election cycle,” says a Senate aide. Frequently, the post provides a boost up the leadership ladder--as shown by Majority Leader George J. Mitchell (D-Me.), a former DSCC chief.