DENVER –U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill wasn’t the only St. Louisan on stage tonight at the convention center. She was introduced by her children:
Here’s their remarks, delivered by son Austin.

My name is Austin. These are my sisters, Maddie and Lily. We’re from Missouri and we are here with just about everybody in our family, including our mom, Claire McCaskill. How did we get here? Well, it started with few strong Americans. My great-grandmother Mildred was a single mom, which was tough. Thankfully, she was strong and independent and wasn’t afraid to state her opinions, even when women weren’t supposed to be heard from. There was my grandfather, McCaskill, whose father taught him to never back away from a fight, especially if it’s about your family or something you believe in. And then there’s Mimi, my 80-year-old grandmother, who has been working for Democrats since Missouri’s own Harry Truman ran for president. She made my mom say, “Trick or treat and vote for JFK” when she was seven.

But the real reason we are here is because we believe in our mother and Barack Obama. We started bugging our mom over a year ago that she needed to get out there and fight for Senator Obama. My sister Maddie wouldn’t leave her alone, and one January night, as Mom was tearing up over Senator Obama’s victory speech in Iowa, Maddie said, “Mom, you taught us that if you believe in something, you are supposed to claim it, work for it, fight for it with all you have.”

Maddie was right and Mom knew it. Because this year, what’s at stake is too important. So my mom stepped up and went to work for a man we can believe in, for change we can believe in. She’s here tonight to do it again.

Our mother, Senator Claire McCaskill.