Any Democrats headed with trepidation into town hall meetings this month should get themselves video of the session Missouri Democrat Claire McCaskill has been conducting, and which MSNBC carried for several minutes this afternoon. She was pitch-perfect: polite and responsive without being a pushover, armed with clear and compelling facts (emphasis on things any health reform bill will *not* do) and firm when necessary. She shamed one of the loudest hecklers by reminding him that "we have good manners in Missouri," but without losing her own temper. I know the mid-day MSNBC audience is small, but I feel like almost any open-minded person who saw this performance would come away trusting McCaskill over the protesters.
It's hard to convey why this worked without video--I'll see if I can find one.
--Michael Crowley