This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 23, 2009 - The online political-news site Politico declared today that U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., is the most influential Twitterer who currently holds office in Washington.
She even outranks President Barack Obama, who's No.4 on the list, even though officially he stopped twittering after Inauguration Day.
Only one Twitter buff is more influential than McCaskill in Washington, Politico says: Former Bush administration guru Karl Rove.
McCaskill chuckled about the honor during a brief interview today on MSNBC. But she added that she sees twittering as a way to communicate with regular people back home in Missouri and -- referring to the reporter interviewing her -- "it's a way to circumvent you guys."
Here's what Politico says: "Although more than 60 members of Congress tweet, no one else does so with the regularity and honesty of this Missouri Democrat.
"She’ll open up about her political views (“I’m mad about these yahoos on Wall Street taking bonuses and trying to buy fancy jets on the taypayers dime”) and her personal life (“Brought work home. My sister is here who is a huge dog person. That means one thing tonight. Westminister Dog Show on TV”).
"McCaskill’s embrace of Twitter has worked: With more than 5,700 followers, she is one of the most popular Twitterers on Capitol Hill."
