Minnesota’s Klobuchar Assumes More Visible Role

Klobuchar was among the senators who helped drive a political compromise that ended the government shutdown and averted a debt crisis. It was a big step into the fray for someone who gained a cautious reputation during her first six years in office.

Klobuchar has been stepping out gradually and is in demand for Democratic Party events in other states. She's showing up frequently on national television. And she's pushing to reassert a political middle willing to embrace compromise and avoid partisan insults.

There are whispers of a presidential campaign if former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton passes on a 2016 run, but Klobuchar deflects such talk.