Suara Indonesia News - "John Kerry never landed an airplane outside of Kansas City or St. Louis," McCaskill says of her party's 2004 presidential nominee. Kerry's campaign ultimately abandoned Missouri in the waning days of the race and lost the state.
Focusing on the big cities sends the wrong signal, McCaskill said. "It sends a signal that this is about turning out Democratic voters rather than persuading everybody in America that you can be their champion."
McCaskill's advice has made a difference in more subtle ways, too. She says Obama sometimes has "a tendency to explain the intellectual rationale for something he's done before he explains what was going on in his heart."
After his remarks in Pennsylvania that rural voters bitter over the economy "cling to guns and religion," Obama tried to explain by saying his "syntax was poor."
"I teased him about using the word syntax," McCaskill said. "I said, 'Barack, where I come from that's the tax you have to pay on beer.' Sometimes it's better to say 'I screwed up' than to say 'I got the wrong syntax.'"
Observers say McCaskill's ability to come across in simple terms is what has made her so appealing as a surrogate.
"She's an older, middle-aged, woman who speaks clearly in a language people can understand," says Democratic strategist Dane Strother. "She fits the demographics and the geographics Obama needs, which is basically Hillary's base."
Asked how much the campaign intends to use McCaskill, 54, in the general election, Dunn says: "As much as possible. She'll obviously play a huge role in Missouri and continue to be one of our top television surrogates."
"You can't underestimate the importance of Claire McCaskill to this campaign," Dunn said.
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