Several months ago, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) became the first female senator to declare her support for Barack Obama , despite enormous pressure from Bill and Hillary Clinton and a number of feminist groups for her to stand for the first woman president.

The Tribune newspaper syndicate's D.C. bureau then reported:

"McCaskill, who was elected to the Senate two years after Obama, in 2006, said she is backing him because he has proven to be a leader willing to work with both sides of the political aisle... As I worked with him trying to find a way to get past the partisan food fight, I realized this was an extraordinary leader."

Dubbed "widely considered her party's best new Senate candidate of the 2006 cycle" by TheAtlantic.com, Sen. McCaskill is a talented leader whose smooth blend of charm, optimism and disarming straightforwardness belies the skill of a smart, seasoned politico and attorney who has won 19 of 20 elections over 25 years.

Claire McCaskill's adult life has been messy at times, though, and her high school resume of homecoming queen and cheerleader hardly foreshadowed her considerable success in Missouri politics, and now, as a respected, up-and-coming U.S. senator.

Sen. McCaskill was doled plum committee assignments for a freshman senator. And now as a national co-chair of the Obama for President campaign, she's often found at Barack Obama's side as he campaigns in the midwest and across the country.

To learn more about this intriguing and increasingly influential senator, read my newest article, Profile of U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri.

(Photo taken on March 1, 2007 as Senators Obama and McCaskill co-sponsored the Dignity for Wounded Warriors Act of 2007, which aimed at ensuring injured soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan receive adequate care: Mark Wilson/Getty Images.)

Related Reading
Washington Post, Jan 13, 2008: At Daughter's Urging, McCaskill Backs Obama