As many already have heard or read, U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., has once again gotten involved in the presidential contest.

Only this time, McCaskill — one of the most active supporters of Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., — is out to assist Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the  Republican frontrunner.

At issue is the disclosure that he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, of military parents.

As her release sent out Thursday explains:

“After starting out her day shocked about a New York Times story that calls into question the eligibility of American citizens born outside the United States to U.S. military families to become President, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill filed a bill today to put an end to the question once and for all.

“Just before she spoke on the Senate floor about her concerns related to this issue, McCaskill hand wrote her legislative fix on a yellow legal pad, which she delivered to the Senate clerk, that would ensure that any person born to U.S. citizens serving in the Armed Services while stationed abroad qualify to become president of the United States.

” ‘In America, so many parents say to their young children, ‘if you work hard and you play by the rules, in America, someday you can be president of the United States,’” McCaskill said on the Senate floor.  “Our brave and respected military should never have to spend a minute worrying whether or not this is true for their child.’

“The U.S. Constitution currently states that ‘No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President,’ but does not define the term natural born citizen.  McCaskill’s bill would clarify the eligibility requirements for becoming president by defining the term ‘natural-born citizen’ as it relates to citizens born to U.S. military families while abroad.’

“To date, every president elected was either born in the continental U.S. or was a citizen at the time the Constitution was adopted. However, it is not uncommon for U.S. military families serving abroad to give birth to children during their time overseas.  McCaskill believes there should be no question about whether these children could serve as president someday.”

“ ‘We should quickly and without fanfare fix this ambiguity and make it very clear that any child of anyone serving in the active military should in fact be qualified to run for president of the United States,’ McCaskill said.”

By the way, Obama has signed on as a co-sponsor.

For those who want to hear McCaskill’s floor speech, here’s the link.