This is the equivalent of “everybody lies about sex.”
Why would a politician vote “present”? It depends.
Like on his/her intelligence and effort to learn about the issues?
Out of how many votes? The statistic means little without context.
"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Palelologus
This article votes “present”.
Even if there were a lot of others voting present, and Obama wasn't the worst offender, I still think that the issue is damaging for him, but if he can be statistically shown to have been the worst, or near worst, present voter, it makes the issue that much more of a club to whup him upside his mush-filled head.
The article (and many others) mentions “aides” and their explanation of things. Why does someone as omnipotent as he need so many aides and advisors? I want a president who can make decisions on his/her own and think for his/her self on personal questions.
In the midst of an old article (circa 2000) on Chicago politics, here’s what voting “present” means to Obama in his own words:
The “present” votes, Obama speculates, were cast by Republicans “who were embarrassed, who knew this was something they should be voting,” but didn’t want to defy party leaders.
http://www.chicagoreader.com/obama/000317/
The NYT article says voting “present” is a peculiar but acceptable vote in Illinois and that BHO did nothing more or different than his fellow Senators.
What they do not say, and something that is VERY important, is how many others with his few years in that body, have that many “present” votes on their record. Is that an aberration or average?
Anyone know?
The fundamental reason for having elected officials is to make the tough decisions.
I don’t want somebody who can’t make up his mind on a bill and votes present to be the one answering that phone at 3:00AM.
I want someone who has a very quick wit about them. Our lives and our families lives depend on that.
Wow. Even I could be a journalist! All I have to do is write articles about other peoples’ articles.
From http://www.enterprisemission.com/Chandra-NASA-Accusation.htm
What made all this really special was the fact that the same source also said (and in this same phone call ...) that both presidential campaigns — McCain’s and Obama’s — had just had similar briefings (part of the normal “national security” procedures for every about-to-be-elected president). And that McCain (because of his 26 years of Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committtee experience ...) already knew most of what the briefing told him. The problem (so I was, again, “informed” ...) was with Obama:
He didn’t know whether to believe the briefing!
Obama’s major concern (according to this phone call) — given the mind-blowing, “history-changing” nature of the information (for most Americans ...) — was that he was being “gamed” by the Bush White House ... in a (literal) “mind-blowing attempt to set him up” ... for some kind of “credibility problem” in the campaign later on!
Sounds like a typical politician.
You can’t expect this brilliant man with the new kind of intelligence (as per Mario Cuomo) to decide whether to vote yes or no.
Funny thing is, this WAS brought up during the primaries and went nowhere. Either Hillary’s campaign was really clueless or, from a media perspective, the fix was in.
Unfortunately it’s hard to bury a story when it’s mentioned in one of the most watched political speeches in US history.
So rather than making a decision that could provide an actual record of his actions, he has established a firm record of indecisiveness.
I’ve been trying to find out how common voting “Present” is in the Illinois legislature. It’s widely reported that Obama voted “Present” 130 times. But there were lots of votes, and it amounted to one “Present” vote for every 30 or so votes cast. You can also find out that he was alone or nearly alone in voting present on some bills that were otherwise passed unanimously. But I’d like to know how he stacks up against his Illinois legislative peers in regard to the “Present” vote. Is one out of 30 high, low average, or outa-sight?