Some "show me state" dems no shows for Obama

The Show Me State briefly became the No Show State on Wednesday as some prominent Missouri Democrats decided they'd rather be somewhere else when President Obama came to St. Louis to push his massive health care overhaul plan.
Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the all-but-certain Democratic nominee for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond, was "already locked in" to meetings in Washington, D.C., on Wall Street financial reforms, said her spokesman Linden Zakula, who downplayed her absence for Mr. Obama's visit.

"Yes, she could have been there, but she feels very strongly about the need for financial regulatory reform," he said. "We've got eight months to go. I'm sure we'll be seeing him out on the campaign trail this fall," her spokesman said.

Rep. Ike Skelton, one of 39 House Democrats who voted against the party's health care overhaul bill in December, also skipped the presidential stop in his home state. Meanwhile, Sen. Claire McCaskill, Missouri Democrat and an early supporter of Mr. Obama's during his campaign who is not up for re-election until 2012, accompanied the president aboard Air Force One to the St. Louis event. Mr. Obama also scheduled a fundraising event for Mrs. McCaskill before returning to Washington.

The event could be an early sign of the draw of Mr. Obama's coattails on the campaign trail, and whether the president will be seen as an asset or drawback for his party in what polls suggest will be a difficult midterm battle ahead for Democrats.