Claire McCaskill Third Most Vulnerable Senator, Washington Post Says

Claire McCaskill: Vulnerable, but not because her challengers are so awesome or anything.

​So Todd Akin is a smug know-it-all convinced that only those with his political beliefs are capable of respect for the Almighty. And so what if Sarah Steelman's campaign thinks 100 x 1,000 = 10,000?

Never mind the strength (or lack thereof) of the field against her: The Washington Post still thinks Senator Claire McCaskill is incredibly vulnerable. The newspaper recently included the Missouri Democrat on its list of the ten most vulnerable incumbents in the U.S. Senate -- and she actually moved a few notches up the list, from No. 5 to No. 3.

Sayeth the Post, "While the GOP field isn't stellar, Missouri is going to be a tough state for Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) to win reelection." In fact, the only incumbents believed to be more in jeopardy at this point are Senator Ben Nelson (D-Nebraska) and Senator Rick Berg (R-North Dakota).

In other news, conservative dragon lady (and favorite auntie of RFT readers everywhere!) Phyllis Schlafly has given her support to Ed Martin, who is hoping to take over the seat being vacated by Todd Akin in his quest to unseat McCaskill.

Martin, who like Phyllis' niece Suzanne Venker was recently the subject of a tres revealing RFT cover story, clearly hopes to rally the base even if former GOP state chairwoman Ann Wagner has the support of the party's establishment.

Finally, the Wentzville Patch reports that Todd Akin is still refusing to talk to the media! Which is really a great position to take when you're trying to win statewide name recognition: Now instead of thinking, "Akin? Is he that nice man profiled on my hyperlocal website of choice?" people in Wentzville are stuck thinking, "Akin? Is the he one who thinks all swing voters hate God?" Dodging his critics worked OK for Akin last time he ran for office, but we have a hard time believing it's going to work on a statewide campaign.