You Can Call Her Senator

Claire McCaskill was officially sworn in as a United States Senator today.

Which, among other things, makes it a lot easier for the writers and bloggers sick of the Sen.-elect stuff.

It took all of 20-seconds for her to say the oath. U.S. Sen. Kit Bond and former Sen. Jean Carnahan, a Democrat, accompanied McCaskill during the ceremony. She becomes one of 16 women in the Senate chamber.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports that McCaskill's mother Betty Anne dabbed tears from her face as her daughter took her front row seat in the Senate. Terry Ganey reports that 500 McCaskill supporters attended a party in her honor the night before the swearing in. Ganey gives us a peek inside:

McCaskill thanked her supporters and said she would work hard not to disappoint them. Then came a McCaskill moment, one of those happenings when you don’t know what’s going to come out of her mouth. McCaskill, 53, said she had been told that the average age of the Senate was 60.

"You’re looking at one young broad," she quipped. With that, she launched into a band-accompanied "happy birthday" rendition for Kim Tucci, co-owner of the St. Louis-based Pasta House Co. and one of her supporters who was on hand.

The Springfield News-Leader reports that Springfieldian Joe Carmichael, a tax attorney and former chairman of the Missouri Democratic Party, attended the event. Springfield residents Jack and Carolyn Hembree said they came to celebrate McCaskill's victory because she would support stem-cell research in the Senate, reform health care, and change U.S. policy on Iraq.

The Hotline notes that McCaskill won't reveal her 2008 preference for the White House just yet. I've heard she's a fan of Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, and that she's not too fond of a Hillary Clinton nomination. Not that she's got something against Hil personally, it's just that she doesn't think her nomination would sell well in the Show-Me State. But you've got to think McCaskill's been thinking about Sen. Barack Obama after the help he gave her during the campaign.