An All-Nighter In Missouri Battleground

Neck-And-Neck Race For Control Of The Senate Heads To The Wire For McCaskill And Talent

(AP)  Like a student cramming for final exams, Claire McCaskill pulled an all-nighter.

The Democratic Senate candidate, scrambling for votes before Tuesday's election against Republican Sen. Jim Talent, embarked Friday night on a fast-paced tour of the St. Louis area. Her itinerary included more than 30 stops over 24 straight hours, and was to end with a rally Saturday night.

"It's the last person you expect to see at Waffle House at 3 a.m.," said Tim Yazawa, 24, who was grabbing a middle-of-the-night snack with a friend.

A more well-rested Talent was flying around the state Saturday with fellow GOP Sen. Kit Bond and other top state Republicans to rally supporters at regional party offices.

"I sense a real intensity level," Talent said as he departed from Missouri Republican Party headquarters in Jefferson City.

McCaskill's stops before midnight Friday included police stations, fire stations and the night shift change at an auto plant. In the wee hours of Saturday morning, her big blue recreational vehicle rolled to all-night diners, where patrons were often stunned to see the Senate candidate amid the burgers and shakes.

It was constant motion as McCaskill hopped on and off her RV, spending 10 to 45 minutes at each stop. Nursing a raspy voice with cough drops and hot tea, McCaskill said it was her idea to target people who work the night shift, though at many stops she was greeted by just a handful of police officers, waitresses or emergency workers.

"It may seem like we're not doing much, but these guys talk to so many people, it's the kind of thing that gets out," she said after stopping at a St. Louis police substation. "I'm trying to let people know the folks who work when the sun goes down do some of the most important work out there."

Talent also was counting on the people at his Republican rallies to encourage others to vote. After greeting about 50 people in Jefferson City, he was flying to St. Joseph, Kirksville and Hannibal.

"I feel very strongly if we will finish this race strong and execute this get-out-the vote plan that you're going to re-elect yourself a United States senator on Tuesday," Talent said before launching into a recitation of his legislative successes. He claimed he was the only candidate with "a position of strength on the war on terror."

McCaskill's 24-hour blitz began hours after Talent rallied his own base Friday in southwest Missouri with the help of President Bush. Among a handful of workers McCaskill greeted at a 911 call center in St. John was dispatcher Michelle Schill, of Lake Sherwood, who said she would vote for McCaskill because of her stance in favor of embryonic stem cell research.

"We lost a baby in our family," Schill said, declining to go into more detail.

McCaskill's visits often took people by surprise. One police officer at St. Louis' central patrol division blushed as he emerged from a restroom to see McCaskill walking down the hall. He apologized for greeting her with a wet handshake.

At St. Louis' South patrol division, Det. Darren Hill's eyes grew wide as McCaskill approached him in a back office.

"I got a call from you today — you woke me up," said a smiling Hill, 32, of St. Louis.

He was referring to a "robocall" phone message that McCaskill recorded to urge voters to come to a Sunday rally featuring Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill).

"You don't hardly see that," Hill said of McCaskill's appearance at the station. "I've never seen a candidate come and do that." He said he planned to vote for her to "shake things up" in Washington.

McCaskill's husband, Joseph Shepard, met up with the caravan around 9 p.m., joining her on visits for about two hours before heading home.

"This is our date, and a very well-chaperoned one," he said jokingly, in front of reporters sitting in close quarters on the RV.

Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, also joined the tour for a few hours as Friday turned to Saturday. He stood with McCaskill outside the Daimler Chrysler plant in Fenton to greet workers at the 11 p.m. shift change.

Crowds at the Fenton plant were the largest of the night, where dozens of union workers gave her hugs and handshakes. She returned to the same plant again for the 5 a.m. shift change.

"I must admit retail campaigning has been pretty nice out here," McCaskill remarked later, saying she got a warmer reception in the area than in rural Missouri.

As light slowly filled the sky early Saturday, her RV pulled up to the Soulard Farmer's Market to greet early risers. Later, she gave a rousing speech in North St. Louis to about 150 black supporters preparing to knock on doors in her campaign's voter mobilization effort.

[skash-2009]

Claire McCaskill has proven what a fighter she is and what a fighter she will be for our country and for Missouri. Jim Talent has proven what a wimp he is by being George W. Bush's little lap dog and voting with him 94% of the time. We could wire up a robot to do the same thing as Talent and would not have to pay its benefits. Go Claire!!!

[bluestardad]

Be Ever Vigilant. Bush and Rove will do anything to stay in power up to an including flooding key districts with fake absentee ballots tampering with electronic voting machines, and bussing in voters who are not from the districts to vote, or even starting another war with and suspending civil liberties postponing the mid term vote. There is a great possibility for this administration to tamper with the electronic voting machines to the point that very subtle differences will take place in Key races just enough to tip the vote in their favor but not enough to cause a full scale American Revolution leaving some doubt, but just enough to throw key races in the Republican Favor. Watch out for this election coup.

[ixoye_02]

It doesn't surprise me that the current republican party only sees democrats as liberal. The republican leadership has been hijacked by "neocons" who don't understand the values that originally attracted me to register as a republican as a young college grad and an evangelical christian. As a former republican who is now registered as an independent, I will vote for the democratic candidate in my competitive house and senate races. And I want to say to those who likes slapping the label of "liberal" to anyone associated with democrats......I would rather vote for people who will throw the republican rascals out of power. The republicans in power have lost their values and turned off real conservatives like myself. Our country needs new leadership and I am willing to give the democrats a chance to stop the current powers.

[peterbaldwin-2009]

Bush said today that he will not retreat from Iraq in order to demonstrate his support for the troops.

When Bush attacked John Kerry, like he did also to John McCain a few years back, he attacked each and every US soldier serving today. Bush is hopelessly lost in his own delusionsal world.

That Talent would chuck the finger at Missourians by sucking up to this Stalinesque misfit is an outrage that has earned him his head on a platter.

The people of Missouri have had enough.

[radiob-2009]

ANGRYliberal further proof of how the election is playing out can be obtain at the Washington Post and the Washington times.They both are conservative newspapers and they have a section called congressional countdown.You may not like what you read however there reputation is not colored with bias.

[radiob-2009]

I do not know any liberals I know moderates and consevatives of both parties.If you are trying to suggest that all democrats are liberals you are sorely mistaken.I am an independent belonging to neither party.I only write what I see,read and hear.

[angryliberal-2009]

I have talked to a number of my liberal friends and the are fed up with the democrats cut and run mentality in Iraq and every one of them is voting republican this year....radiob,

wow that was easy to type.

[angryliberal-2009]

Uhhh...is there a republican in this race..lol, all the photos CBS are of the dem.

[radiob-2009]

I have listened to many of my republican friends lately and they have one thing in common apathy towards the election.A majority of them plan on not voting.I do not live in Missouri but this is the prevalent mood amongst my friends in OH,KY,and IN. if this mood carries the nation then a democratic sweep will look like pardon the pun Katrina to the White House.Come Wednesday we will find out for sure.

[peterbaldwin-2009]

Here is Giuliani's statement in Kansas City about how the Patriot Act was critical in catching Osama bin Laden: "Mob suspects and terrorists do not come walking into your office and confess," Giuliani said. "You have to intrude."

Then he engages in doublespeak, "creating" his own reality:

"When I say this election will make a difference in the war on terrorism, that is not just political rhetoric, it's reality," Giuliani said.

In the Bush/Talent bubble, giving the terrorists the keys to unlock the firing mechanisms on our nuclear warheads on $20 Sandisk thumb drives will help us defeat them. And putting the US blueprint for making nuclear devices on the internet for all terrorists to see for free is their second great idea for beating the terrorists.

With friends like Bush and Talent, who needs enemies? These clowns have insulted all Missourians.

[peterbaldwin-2009]

Nero played the fiddle and Bush is playing politics instead of tending to business. Notice that while Iraq is in flames, an issue Missourians care deeply about, our commander-in-chief is AWOL.

Bush and his weakling sidekick, Talent are amateurs through and through. Talent is toast.

[peterbaldwin-2009]

The Dems are getting a boost with the chickenhawk attack on purple heart recipient Kerry backfiring bigtime. This will boost McCaskill over the top.

With Bush clinging on to Rumsfeld and Chaney saying "full steam ahead" Talent is starting to look like a certain loser.

Rudy Giuliani's Orwellian appearance in Kansa City came off as pathetic. The stale talking points from the Bush Ministry of Truth are an insult to the intelligence of Missourians, especially in view of more Keystone Cops screw-ups over the last few days.

Talent is a bungler like Bush short on one thing for sure: talent.