senator claire mccaskill turned to twitter. i'm tired of looking and feeling fat.will keep me on track. since then, she has kept her followers in the loop posting updates of her fitness goals and her eating habits. here is a picture of the senator in august of 2010 compared to last month. now five months after that first tweet about her weight, the senator has reached her goal of losing 50 pounds. but she is not just getting attention for her weight loss it was also mccaskill's social meeting and inviting the public into her private life. she tweeted saying i did it! thank you, team charles and my new bff, mr. treadmill. senator claire mccaskill of missouri joins us this morning in her workout ready to go to the gym. congratulations! >> thank you very much. >> this is a huge goal for anybody to reach. it's a very tough thing to do, though, in public. what made you decide twitter was the best way to help you accomplish this goal? >> you know, my twitter account i look at it as a way for people in missouri to see the whole picture. i tweet about my kids. yesterday, i

in missouri, you can elect claire mccaskill, who shares my hope for cures. what you do in missouri matters to millions of americans-- americans like me. >> narrator: but fox's activism didn't please everyone. >> he is moving all around and shaking, and it's purely an act. >> it just made me smile. i was just like, no, really? he really did that? and then i realized that we're in the last two weeks of the campaign, and people were talking about stem cells. as long as that happens, i'm happy. you can call me whatever you want. >> missouri went to democrat claire mccaskill. >> the nation was watching, and we showed 'iem! thank you so much. >> narrator: claire mccaskill won that pivotal missouri senate race, and the democrats claimed control of congress. but there still weren't enough votes to overturn a presidential veto, and the funding restrictions remained in place for the remainder of the bush presidency. >> it has obviously slowed research in this country. it's been, i think, a miserable time for everybody, a very sad epoch in our history. >> i think the p

mccaskill has her work cut out for her. she had a problem with an airplane that she owned and it did not pay taxes on. it ended up costing her about $400,000. that is going to be working in her favor is this republican primary. you have congressman akin and a newcomer to the race who ran a company until recently. he will have plenty of hand sanitizer. republicans seem to be looking at a serious candidate. he can put some of his own money in. there is something about not being part of washington, being a political outsider that seems very appealing to voters this cycle. host: in montana, we have senator john tester, a democrat, whose main opposition seems to be coming from denny rehberg. guest: i am going to put that on my list of epic battles. he defeated an incumbent who was hobbled by some ethics questions. he promised to be a different kind of democrat. republicans contend, no, he has been your standard issue democrat. he does against the party when he wants to and when he needs to. one of the reasons this is an epic bat

also, i want to know your opinion on claire mccaskill's race. i think her term is up this year.ment i have -- i do not think the new mexico race will be as competitive as you think with other wilson. i do not think she will even come out of the primary. there lieutenant governor is a pretty strong fund-raiser. i want to hear your comments on that. caller: -- guest: we will start with ohio. i expect it will be on the list eventually. sherrod brown, elected in 2006, it is going to face probably the -- to me, the likely republican nominee is the state treasurer. he is about 33 or 34 years old, a tireless campaigner, and is absolutely blowing people away with his ability to raise money. he has raised something like -- close to $4 million since he has gotten in this race, which is pretty impressive. i think this is going to be a race a real contrasts -- ideological contrasts. i think it is going to be one of biography. somebody like sherrod brown, who has been in public service most of his life, josh mandell, at his young age, has done two tours in iraq and has been at the state legi

and one more game on sunday spot on our cheap three with angie mccaskill a bear one all big spending and she hates. to be on danish football were asked up to tenth in the premier league there are fifty one when i was sunderland at the emirates a couple from robin van persie securing a win for aston bangas men elsewhere new castle a fourth are they getting a point against spurs a late equaliser from substitute shola ameobi giving alan pardew's side a two two draw but west brom beat wolves to neil at home in the west midlands darby to move out of the relegation zone. we have grown in this season as you know that was in. it was also noise to get the food clean sheet. hopefully clean sheets which. we had last year that also is another positive for the last year we know through tomorrow which is a much better situation if we can get three clean sheets that we we are. now in the n.f.l. san francisco event detroit some beaten start of the season a delay in walk a touchdown in the dying minutes getting a forty nine as a twenty five nineteen victory by the lines are off to their best start si

and there's one more game on sunday spot on our check through with angie mccaskill a bad one all big spending and she hates. me beyond saying i asked her up to tenth in the premier league there after a two one win over sunderland at the emirates a double from robin van persie securing the win fast and banged his men elsewhere new castle a fourth after getting a point against spurs a late equaliser from substitute shola ameobi giving alan pardew's side a two to draw while west brumbies will be home in the west midlands darby to move out of the relegation zone. we have won only this season so that was a new way to i mean if you like to open that it killed it was also noise to get a clean sheet at least we should vote for. clean sheets which. we had last year that also is another positive. last year when you are three from which is a much better statistic if we can get three clean sheets that we have to use to. the n.f.l. so. francisco vended detroit some beaten start to the season a delay more could touch than in the dying minutes giving the forty niners a twenty five nineteen victory

have you heard this claire mccaskill?ths ago -- isn't it great? about five months ago the senator tweeted she just need add change. she said she's tired of looking and feeling fat and wanted to lose 50 pounds. this is what she looked like at that time. since then she's used twitter to stay motivated. she started hitting the gym and she started eating healthy. august 11th she tweeted that she passed up the funnel cake at the state fair and that is big, because who can do that? september 9th she announced her divorce with bread and pasta and take a look at her now. the senator tweeted that she has reached her goal. she reached her goal october 8th. ah. doesn't she look fantastic? congratulations. that's just awesome. let's talk about something not so awesome now. shall we? the world series starts tomorrow night. awesome. in boston, system talking how the red sox blew think chance to get to the world series. now starting pitcher john lester is coming clean admitting that he and other starters drank beer and ate fried chicken

and one more going to talk about from sunday spot now take three with angie mccaskill are one all that spending and she arrived in the type of. moving on to english for poor arcelor up the tenth in the premier league after a two one win over sunderland at the emirates a double from robin van persie during the win for us and banged his men elsewhere newcastle a fourth after getting a point against the equaliser from substitute shola ameobi giving an apology side drop by west brom big wolves to our home in the west midlands starting to move out of the relegation zone. in this season so that was in the. noise to be a food clean sheet are. still pretty. clean change which. changes post which we had last year and also is another positive reaction including a last year we know tree from which is image produced interesting if we can create three clean change of you're going to have too much to me man in the n.f.l. san francisco have ended detroit some bait and started the season of the line walk a touchdown in the dying minutes giving the forty. nine is a twenty five nineteen picturing how th

was one of the game on sunday to talk about spot on our chase through with angie mccaskill was all xander and she. in england up to tenth in the premier league after two one win over sunderland at the emirates a double from robin van persie securing a really awesome bang is meant elsewhere newcastle a fourth off the getting a point against the lady clause or from something could kill or be giving alan pardew's side changing drop while west brom beat wolves single at home in the west midlands darby in the eyes of the relegation zone. and we are only in this season is he actually that was in. america who was also noise to get the food clean sheet . still. hopefully clean change which. is possible to we heard last year that also is another positive for. last year when your three from a which is a much better statistic if we can get three clean changes games that we have to push through and i bring the n.f.l. san francisco with them to detroit somebody can start the season the delay more a touchdown in the dying minutes giving the forty nine is a twenty five nineteen victory i lines were off

mccaskill has her work cut out with her. she had a problem with an airplane that she owned in did not play taxes on for quite a while. it ended up costing your about $400,000. working in her favor right now is the republican primary. you have the former state senator and a newcomer who ran a company until recently that ran germx. republicans look to him as a serious candidate because he can put some of his money in if he needs to come but there's something about not being a part of washington that is very appealing to voters this cycle. host: in montana a democratic senator whose main opposition looks like it will be coming from rep rehberg. guest: that will be another epic battle. elected in 2006 defeated an incumbent that was hobbled by some ethics questions. he promised to be a different kind of democrat and republican contend he has been a standard issue democrat. one reason this is an epic battle is because rehberg represents the entire state so you have two state wide candidates running against each other. it will real

devoted to senate races are going to find them producing material material to back people like claire mccaskill and kent conrad and concentrating on spreading their message on a statewide level but now do you have a preview of the major players that are pulling the strings in these upcoming elections might just give you a better gist of who's really in charge or going to be. well it's now been more than three weeks since occupy wall street began in new york and it seems like the movement is only growing york mayor michael bloomberg said today if the occupiers can stay in zuccotti park indefinitely a lot of people those feeling that he's just waiting for the cold weather to roll it now the. thousand eleven movement is still in freedom plaza despite the fact that their permit expired last night at ten pm they've now to go she added a four month a stench in there and they've got the media's attention now you have the attention of the lawmakers what are they going to do with it i love point you have to stop occupy and perhaps start infiltrate here to discuss this with me is maria all line one of th

good health care do you want to have strong strong healthy communities you want to have educations mccaskill's or not probably others argue for different reasons this is nothing like the tea party here's tea party cofounder mark meckler these people are not like the partiers they're not law abiding citizens they're campaigning hard work helping isn't allowed they're breaking the laws on the brooklyn bridge that's not tea party behavior that's not america loving behavior here they say it's about how to reclaim the american dream make rich people pay their fair share and corporations pay their fair share it is he's had stolen the american dream so many people were here to take it back i see that democracy in a form rarely seen in this country so they've got to get bad enough to get better and i think people with maybe some false hope that without work if you are oh paul we just saw the problem or so we could all be happy about reality the reality is if you don't buy what you want you deserve what you get progressive leader than protesters are like plays much of the wind here i pay street where t

the other topic, claire mccaskill and twitter. >> back in may, she apparently got very motivated, sheoing to lose some weight and went on twit r to talk about it to make it a public issue and then you know, we actually i think the first tweet. do we have it somewhere? i'm tired of looking and feeling fat, she says. maybe talking about it publicly will keep me on track. may 12th. >> oh, my goodness. can you imagine going on twitter and it didn't work? >> october 8th. the next one. goal, i did it. i lost 50 pounds. thanks to team charloteses. also, a before and after picture. there you dpo. big difference. run i running for re-election, so she's not only running the treadmill. she is running another campaign. >> wow. i don't know if i'd want to talk about dieting on twitter. >> i know. >> i know we were talking about our time on the treadmill last night, but good for her. and now, with a little bit of time we have left, let's talk halloween. we wanted to play this again. this is from "time" magazine. the most best ideas for costumes. fifth, rebecca black. you know rebecca black? she san

actually, mccaskill wasn't in on that, but why do you think that got so much support, and it went down? >> well, you know, six of the democrats out of 52 is not exactly an overwhelming support for the democratic side. but, you know, let's face it, the republicans right now are putting up the same stuff that got us into this mess to begin with. i don't know how mitch mcconnell keeps a straight face on the floor of the senate when all he advocates is failed policies that haven't created jobs over the last 12 years -- martha: march -- but, chris, the point of what i was trying to say is the republican jobs bill got more support than the president's jobs bill in passagement. >> it got five democrats and joe lieberman, and i don't think joe lieberman's been a democrat for some time. you know, there are 52 democrats in the house -- in the senate, and we have to get some republicans to say, listen, we care more about creating jobs in america than the next election because republicans want to see this economy continue to fail because they care about november 2012 and not what's happening -- ma

. >> senator claire mccaskill who credited twitter for helping her lose 50 pounds got very personal onlinewhat is the reason sharing that type of information is bad. >> because you don't know the exactly how the information is going to be used because insurance companies right now are using the information right now to look for fraud issues. however, what they could be doing down the line is using that information to rate you for underwriting purposes. therefore anything that discusses your health i would advise against putting that down online. >> you always see, looking at my facebook feed i often see people saying i'm sick, i'm depressed. those are things you don't want to put on there and upload pictures that could contradict that. that's come back to bite individuals. >> in general most of the content you put up is going to be discoveriable in case of a lawsuit. so it's definitely advisable not to let anyone know your exact information as far as your health care goes because you don't know exactly how that information is going to be utilized down the road. >> when we talk about securi

big durbin says they don't have the votes for it and declared clare mccaskill to show up in missourio stand for it. elliss, tell me is it hypocrisy or not, that harry reid talks, depends on which side of the minority, majority he is. >> honestly governor, who cares. >> mike: it's funny who dares now, but you cared six years ago. >> all of these representatives in congress they'll do whatever advantage they can get. the bigger question, how do we make sure that they do something that's going to put americans back to work and best plan frankly, what did the president say? pass this bill. >> mike:'s saying it to everybody except that's who might get jobs created. we've got to stop. i'll tell you what i wish the president would do, let people know that their taxes in business aren't going up and not facing a lot of expensive regulations. until the banks have the government money loan it out, without sitting on it. that would -- [applause] >> not too long ago herman cain was behind the republican front runner and now he's at the top one of the polls. does he have what it takes to go all t

lots of mod ral conservative democrats, ben nelson, john tester, bill nelson in florida, claire mccaskill, worried about how this bill gets funded. this is a real test for the president. can he find a way to get something that resembles the americans jobs act through the senate to put the pressure on house republicans? and lot of his rhetoric was aimed at republicans, he mentioned mitch mcconnell and house republicans but he's got to get it through his own party and through the democratic controlled senate first before he can turn it and say the ball is his court. >> has the meeting with the democrats later this evening. the president is making his case about the jobs bill and john boehner, blaming the president for everything. it doesn't seem as though either side is communicating or even trying to. >> no, you know, andrea, the president said and mentioned it again today, said it a lot of times, the election is 13 or 14 months away but not really. the positioning for campaign 2012 is fully on, about a month ago the president went into this campaign rhetoric stage of his presidency and no

. >> one reason senator mccaskill is not with the president tonight. >> have a vote. >> have a vote.in a democracy. >> have a vote, harry reid. that's the republicans' plan, have a vote on that. you've been in charge of that how long and have you brought a jobs plan to the floor? no. 888 days without a budget because of the democrats. >> we're not going to move forward. i want to change the subject as we close. look at the latest polling in the race. governor perry came down and herman cain the businessman came up. romney, 25%, cain at 16%, perry at 16%. when you're doing better in the polls, you try to get even more of a bounce. you do things like go on "the view." >> you're an associate pastor at your church. are you going to separate that from you have to run a country with a lot of people with a lot of different beliefs. >> i will base my decision based on the cushion onstitution of t united states of america. that's what the president has a responsibility to do. >> that's what obama said, too. >> we saw him on "the view," a whole bunch of other interviews. is this lasting or is

is that the right approach if you're claire mccaskill in a tough race in missouri, for example, or jonyou distance yourself from the president as a democrat? >> i was about to say, it doesn't work. for all practical purposes, yes, we are seeing some of them who are going to have tough re-election ballots, trying to distance themselves. but they still run with a big "d" by their names. so what happens then, if the president turns up and wins? so you've got a problem on two levels. you have done something that doesn't work, and if you win and the president wins, he's not going to be running to assist you. >> right, if he wants a second term. all right, shameless plugs, the bearded one, reid wilson? >> i'm going to have to give a plug to a guy named scott white, a state senator, just passed away, had an enlarged heart nobody knew about, but he's a great guy. we're all remembering scott lately. >> thanks, reid. >> cynthia? >> i'm going to shamelessly plug myself. read my column about herman cain and race @cynthiatucker.com. >> she has her own website. perry? >> i'll do the same, plug mysel

howard, it looked like it took some hand-wringing or arm twisting to get mccaskill, bill, nelson, joeet a lot of the ones. he got them to agree to at least vote to move it forward. >> well, i think that's important, chris, because i think the president, having talked to some of his aides over the last day. they saw tonight and today as a study in contrast. some up here in new hampshire where the republicans are debating and supposedly talking about the economy, while meanwhile down in washington all of the republicans voted against, or voted not to consider the president's jobs bill. and i think that's the contrast that the white house wanted to make. that's the point that the president wants to try to make out on the campaign trail, that he's not just dealing with a do-nothing congress but with a congress that doesn't want to -- you know, wants to stop everything. that's the message he's trying to put out there, and he got most of his democrats to support him on that strategy tonight. >> jonathan, not only got the democrats 51 with jeanne shaheen joining the vote later tonight in a d

john brunner and clare mccaskill there. in nevada, the race is rated as no. 5. hawaii is no. 6. the former governor london lingle is the republican in that race. the next call on the economy comes from gary, indiana. arthur, independent line. caller: good morning. appreciate your allowing me to take this time to express my opinion. have muchll, i don't confidence in the economy because we don't really have any leaders. i look at the leaders, and they don't have much confidence in it because they continue to get increases in their pay, they continue to get money from other sources and stacking medaka in such a way -- stacking the deck in such a way. you lead by example. if you feel this is going well you cut your pay some and quit telling the people to cut theirs. tighten their belts and you are not taking your spare i -- tightening yours. host: california, republican line. caller: good morning. i know here in the state of california we have all sorts of different programs right now, all sorts of money to illegal immigrants. be it through school funds, programs, and all sorts of

this writ large in terms of some senate campaigns, people like joe manchin in west virginia, claire mccaskilln missouri. but, you know, i think, jon, it's a little bit of short-sighted thinking. i remember back with president bush in '04, again, some republicans thought, oh, gee, he's so polarizing at the moment, but he went on to win re-election. i don't think a republican or democrat can run away from an incumbent president, and we know some of these congressional democrats -- especially the conservative ones who are so worried -- you know, you've got to think congressional ratings right now in terms of job approval are even lower than the president's. so are they going to run away from their position in congress too? it just looks like they're, you know, weak. that's all. jon: steven, in this internet era when these ads get produced and they're out a couple of hours after an event takes place, is part of it the imagery of being seen on stage with an unpopular president? >> yeah. i mean, i think almost all of it is the imagery of being seen with the president of the united states. he's actu

among them, senators franken, begich, klobuchar, pryor, tester, and mccaskill. they're all cosponsors of senator scott brown's bill. what this bill does, it repeals any an existing requirement that government agencies at the state, federal, and local level withhold 3% of every payment to any contractor they do business with. this is money contractors may very well end up getting back from the i.r.s. at some point long after the job is done. but, in the meantime, the government gets to hold onto it instead of allowing the businesses to invest it in jobs and the economy. this is money these companies could be putting toward hiring workers and growing their businesses, but it's going to the i.r.s. instead. basically as a zero-interest loan to the federal government here in washington. now, i know that members on both sides of the aisle are hearing from constituents about how burdensome this legislation is. that's why president obama himself already embraced delaying its implementation in his first stimulus bill and proposed delaying it again in his latest stimulus

you know, senators mccaskill and tester and nelson and manchin and lieberman.nd there are other democrats who have had questions about this piece of legislation, and so, obviously, the president wanted to affect that before that vote. jon: right. and the president tries to frame it as an argument of himself or the white house versus the repuicans, the intransigent republicans on capitol hill. let me play you a sample and get your action. >> if mr. mcconnell chooses to vote existence it or if -- against it or if members of this caucus choose to vote against it, i promise you, we're going to keep on going, and we will put forward maybe piece by piece each component of the bill. and each time they're going to have to explain why it is that they'd be opposed to putting teachers back in the classroom or rebuilding our schools or giving tax cuts to middle class folks and giving tax cuts to small businesses. jon: yeah. i guess it's, you know, as american as apple pie to vote for this bill, but as you point out, there are many democrats who don't much like the particul

host: it highlights ben nelson and clear mccaskill as well.e been reelected up to and after his death if he had not got in foul up with this obamacare nonsense. that vote and that controversy about the payoff that he expected for a time from the white house -- he accepted for a time from the white house makes it unlikely he will get reelected. ben nelson is a good guy. he is a smart person. you want, i want moderate democrat. you do not want every democrat -- you have to have some compromise. not everyone can be a hard core ideologue. it is good to have people who meet in the middle. host: going back to our potential talk about moderate conservatives. my plan conservatives. -- right-line conservatives. guest: whoever is going to challenge barack obama needs to win the vote of republican primary voters. they do not like obama. they are pretty conservative. it does not make any sense to give them the finger. john weaver, who is running this campaign that huntsman has got does not get that. host: what you think about the condition of the senate?

this legislation is paid for, it is sunsetted at 18 months, very similar to the legislation senator mccaskilland i put together with wartime contracting which now after a two-year sunset period have reported out very important improvements in looking at a system in iraq and afghanistan that resulted in $30 billion to $60 billion of fraud, waste, and abuse. we put a commission together, brought good minds to help us solve the problem, came in with recommendations and we're going to fix that problem as best it can be fixed. it is balanced philosophically and politically. i would ask my colleagues when the last time was that we had law enforcement lining up with people who would generally be believed to be on the other side philosophically, the aclu, naacp, etc., all coming together and saying the same thing. this needs a national commission. this needs to be fixed. we have in terms of law enforcement the strong support of the international association of chiefs of police, the senate sheriffs association, the fraternal order of police, the major cities chiefs associations, the national narcotics

if it had not been for senators webb and the pasco, it would not have become -- senator mccaskill, it would not have become legislation. people knew it would not be partisan. the idea was not to attack any administration. whenever we get into a contingency operation, it would be to take advantage of the situation without any purposeful bad acts that lend themselves to abuse and mismanagement. you recommended reforms. the result of your work is so boring. billions of dollars wasted by agencies that have little capacity to manage the contract or hold them compound -- contractors or hold them accountable. these findings are consistent with the committee also own oversight of private security contractors in iraq and afghanistan. i led a six month investigation about a trucking contract in afghanistan. our investigation found that the trucking contract has spawned a protection racket where contractors were extorted for passage to obtain safe passage. -- contractors were extorted to obtain safe passage. the two weeks ago, the subcommittee had a thought appearing with defense department witn

. -- claire mccaskill.evada five, hawaii is number six with former governor linda lingle the republican in that race. that is from politico. next call from gary, indiana, arthur, independent line. hi, arthur. caller: good morning. i appreciate you allowing me to take this time to express my opinion. first of all, i don't have much confidence in the economy because we don't have any leaders. look at the leaders and they don't have much confidence because they are continuing to get increases in their pay, income from other sources and stacking the deck in such a way they benefit. so when we get some leaders that will lead and you lead by example. if you feel this is going well, you cut your pay and quit telling the people to cut theirs. tightening their belts and you are not tightening yours. host: michelle in palm desert, california, on the republican line. caller: good morning. basically in the state of california we have all sorts of programs that are putting all sorts of money to illegal immigrants, schoo

remain a thinking, as i speak, of the first of the commission in wartime contracting which senator mccaskill and i introduced four years ago and which resulted in a finding of between $30 billion in fraud, wasted, and abuse ands in contracts that have gone to iraq and afghanistan and also provided a model for the way that we should be approaching such contracts in the future, and i would put this particular national commission in that category. tbas put together after much -- tbas put together after much thought and many hearings. it is paid for. it is sunsetted at 18 months, and it's dedicated to helping us resolve and issue of very serious national purpose. we began on this issue -- i began on this issue before i came to the senate, the issue of the imbalance in our criminal justice system, and the need to bring a comprehensive resolution in terms of how we handle crime and reentry in this country. we had two and a half years of hearings -- excuse me, more than two and a half years of hearings, here since i came to the senate. and after i introduced this legislation we met -- our staff lev

murray, senator bennet, senator merkley, senator sanders, senator johnson, senator begich, senator mccaskill and senator mark udall and senator al frank -7b, all of whom are cosponsoring this important legislation. i hope the rest of the senate will join us again to support the continuation of these important programs and enact this legislation. mr. president, i yield the floor. a senator: mr. president? the presiding officer: the senator from ohio. mr. portman: mr. president, thank you. i'm happy to rise today to speak about the three trade agreements that are working their way over to the senate. at a time when unemployment is over 9% and we have over 14 million americans out of work, it's past time for us to take up these three important agreements. these agreements with korea, colombia, and panama are going to create jobs and put americans back to work. that's why it's so important we move and move hon a bipartisan basis to get them done. with 95% of consumers living outside of our borders, we need to proactively help american workers, farmers, service providers sell their products all a