Sen. McCaskill: Obama approves of her decision to skip Democratic convention

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Tuesday that President Obama approves of her decision to skip the Democratic National Convention.

“He thinks it’s the right thing to do,” McCaskill said at a press conference in her home state, according to the Kansas City Star. “The notion that I would be out hobnobbing with donors at cocktail parties after Labor Day rather than here in Missouri fighting, if the Republicans think I’m that dumb, they’ve got me confused with somebody else.”

{mosads}McCaskill has aggressively pushed back against attacks over her decision not to attend the convention scheduled for September in Charlotte, N.C. 

The Republican National Committee and Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign quickly accused her and other Democrats skipping the convention of not wanting to be seen as too close to Obama. But Vice President Biden is campaigning on McCaskill’s behalf in Missouri next week, and during the press conference, McCaskill doubled down on her support of the healthcare reform legislation that’s considered to be one of the president’s signature accomplishments.

“Everyone’s trying to make this a big deal and narrative. It’s just stupid,” she told MSNBC last week after news broke that the Supreme Court had upheld the controversial law.

McCaskill is a top target this year and big money is flooding her state to oppose her reelection. She will face one of three Republicans — Rep. Todd Akin, John Brunner and Sarah Steelman — vying for the nomination in the Aug. 7 Missouri primary.

The Hill rates the race as a “toss-up.”