Sen. Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.) — ever mindful of her reelection prospects in 2012 — couldn’t exactly make up her mind about the president’s State of the Union address.

On the one hand…

“I think the president needs to go further on the [spending] cuts,” she says. “The fact that [he] spent so much time talking about the deficit is a very good sign.”

On the other hand…

“But we can’t afford to cut back on some of the important investment that will create the jobs that will allow us to compete,” she says in the next breath.

Did she watch Rep. Paul Ryan’s response?

“I’m sure I’ll read it,” she tells us. “I’ve read his [Roadmap] plan.”

What did she think of it?

“I think some of his Roadmap is great, I think some of it is a dead-end,” she says.

Go figure.