This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 24, 2008 - On the day earlier this month when President Bush signed into law the historic financial bailout bill, Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill made a pit stop in St. Peters to promote Sen. Barack Obama's economic platform.
So what's life like for top surrogates in the heat of the campaign?
Here's McCaskill's Obama-related schedule for this month.
Oct 2: Television appearances live from the vice presidential debate at Washington University
Oct. 3: The St. Peters event, as well as TV and radio interviews
Oct. 7: Media duties at the presidential debate in Nashville, Tenn.
Oct. 8: An appearance on "Fox & Friends" in the morning, MSNBC's "Race to the White House with David Gregory" later that day; also, a press conference on Obama's health care plan in Kansas City
Oct. 9: A visit to St. Joseph with vice presidential nominee Joe Biden; another health care press conference in St. Louis
Oct. 15: Interview with Fox News' Neil Cavuto
Oct. 16: Appearance on MSNBC's "Rachel Maddow Show"
Oct. 18: The Obama rally in downtown St. Louis
Oct. 19: Debate with Rep. Roy Blunt on CNN's "Late Edition," plus a press conference that followed
Monday-Wednesday: Joins Obama's Missouri campaign director for a three-day "Closing Argument" tour starting in Kansas City, traveling the central part of the state and concluding in St. Louis.
Tuesday: Interview with a Philadelphia talk radio host in response to McCain, who had just spoken on the show; also, an appearance at a Callaway County Democratic rally
Wednesday-Friday: A series of radio interviews with stations in Missouri and other battleground states; events in Columbia, Springfield and Kansas City.
All this -- plus McCaskill is campaigning for state Democrats.
She began, in usual stump speech fashion, by touting the Democratic presidential nominee's promise to roll back tax cuts for the wealthy. But by the end of the 90-minute event at city hall, billed as a town hall forum, McCaskill had covered everything from earmarks to health care to negative campaigning. Despite a clear interest in focusing on the economy, she dutifully answered questions not directly relating to the topic at hand. And she took every chance to focus attention back to Obama.
"It's important to have experience, but it's also important to have someone who hasn't been (in Congress) so long that they can't see what's broken," McCaskill told the crowd, prompting a female supporter to proclaim: "I love you. ... Sen. Obama owes you big time."
That's true, especially if the Illinois senator pulls off an upset in Missouri.
McCaskill, who is a national co-chair of Obama's campaign, has been one of his most ardent campaigners. There is perhaps no better surrogate for Obama than his fellow first-term senator. As a woman, she was able, especially during the primary, to reassure women voters that it was OK to vote for Obama.
She's in a swing state that's received national attention for hosting a vice presidential debate and a 100,000-person rally for Obama -- and helped Obama to craft a strategy for a Democratic win, one modeled on her own successful Senate race.
More practically, McCaskill isn't up for re-election and like other Washington politicians is on fall recess.
"When we can't have Sen. Obama or Joe Biden out on the trail in Missouri, it's helpful to have effective messengers like (McCaskill) out there who are widely respected in the state and speak directly for the campaign," said Justin Hamilton, Missouri press secretary for Obama. "She's one of his closest confidants. There are few people around who know Missouri and Obama so well."
With the election winding down, both Obama and rival John McCain are relying on their campaign surrogates to drum up support in key states. The Arizona senator has brought national party leaders -- former presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee, among them -- to Missouri. He's also called upon state Republican politicians, such as former Sen. John Danforth, the honorary chairman of McCain's Missouri campaign, to speak on his behalf. The widely respected Danforth has a reputation as a moderate -- and that may help McCain to appeal to independents and other moderates.
State officials such as auditor Susan Montee have taken to the campaign trail for Obama. But McCaskill is doing much of the heavy lifting in Missouri.
For Danforth, the campaign schedule has been much lighter. Before the Missouri Republican primary, he joined McCain for an event at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport. "I've known this man for 25 years," Danforth said then of McCain. "He has never and will never sell out his principles to win a few votes. Never."
He saw the candidate again at a fundraiser this summer, and then traveled with him to Columbia and spoke on his behalf Monday at a McCain rally in St. Charles.
"The best campaigns clarify the differences between the candidates, and my role is to elaborate on those sharp differences," Danforth said in an interview.
Like McCaskill, Danforth has gone on television several times this month to defend his candidate. During appearances on Fox and MSNBC, as well at the St. Charles campaign stop, Danforth has sought to closely connect Obama with the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, a group being accused of voter registration fraud on several fronts.
Danforth, a partner at the Bryan Cave law firm and also chairman of the Danforth Foundation, said the vast majority of his time helping the McCain campaign has been spent raising fair voting issues through the candidate's "Honest and Open Election Committee," which he co-chairs with former Sen. Warren Rudman of New Hampshire. He held a press conference recently at the National Press Club in Washington that focused on the highly charged ACORN allegations.
Danforth said he's not sure how he'll be asked to help McCain in the last week before Election Day.
"The thing about the campaign is schedules are put together last minute," he said.
That's a lesson every surrogate learns. McCaskill will likely spend most of next week campaigning for Obama, but she won't know where she'll be or exactly how she'll be helping until a day or two beforehand. The fluid scheduling is emblematic of the wait-and-see culture of politics -- campaigns like to know where their race is closest or where they're most vulnerable and send surrogates there.
There's also little campaign orthodoxy when it comes to communicating with surrogates. The Obama campaign often initiates contact with McCaskill, who clears everything through her scheduler. She's widely available now but had more to juggle with Senate demands during the session earlier this fall.
Hamilton, the Obama spokesman, said the campaign likes to spread McCaskill's appearances throughout the state. "There's not a scientific formula -- two parts this, one part that," he said.
Tina Hervey, a spokeswoman for the Missouri Republican Party, said some McCain surrogates reach out to the campaign to offer their help, and others are most often contacted by McCain aides. Much depends on where events are taking place.
"You have to look at your demographic," Hervey said. "Where are you going? What message are you trying to get out?"
And it's also a matter of how surrogates view the invitation to speak for a candidate. Many politicians see it as a less pressurized form of campaigning.
"It's much more fun," Danforth said. "When you're running yourself and your name is on the ballot, you're far more nervous."
Elia Powers is a freelance writer in St. Louis.