Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) said she was pleased with Obama talking last night about “handcuffing the public option” in an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe today. Watch the video below.
“He talked about handcuffing the public option, which is essential…for a moderate like me,” she said. “Without handcuffing it, it could morph into a comprehensive government plan, which I think most moderates can’t support.”
Read what McCaskill had to say on Rep. Joe Wilson after the jump.
Sen. McCaskill also spoke on Rep. Joe Wilson’s outburst toward Obama, which she called “shocking.” She said elected officials in an audience before the President have certainly muttered under their breath before, “but I don’t think we’d had anybody show that kind of disrespect to the institution before.”
McCaskill went on to note that Wilson had apologized however, and Congress should move on. “Let’s be done with it – let his constituents handle it from now on. The man apologized, I think it’s great, let’s move on.”
Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough called Wilson a “great American who acted dumb last night” as well as a “quiet, soft-spoken guy.” That someone “like that can get so angry and lose control” is an indicator of just how ugly the health care debate has become, said Scarborough.
McCaskill and other moderate Democrats are headed to the White House today for a meeting on health care.
