Barak Obama cowardly ducks Move.org/Patreus vote

[Freddie Stubbs]

One name was conspicuously absent from the roll call on this vote. Senator Obama:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00344

At first I assumed that he was out of town. Then I found out that he voted on cloture for the Boxer Amendment earlier in the day:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00343

Well, perhaps he had to leave town right after that vote. That would explain thngs. Except that later this afternoon, he was there to vote on the Fiengold Amendment:

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=1&vote=00345

Looks like someone was trying to duck taking a stand!

[TwilightGardener]

1. Smart. Why be tied to this bullshit?

[TechBear_Seattle]

9. BS or not, it was a vote that received a LOT of scrutiny, and he chickened out

If he really wanted to protest, he would have voted Present. Instead, he apparently ducked out entirely. What does that say about his willingness, even his ability, to handle controversial issues?

[Sequoia]

2. Have I been under a rock?

What's this bill about Move-On you all are talking about? I know it has something to do with their ad but that's about all. Gotta tell ya...back in 2003 I got yelled at at work because "everyone knows you're a liberal Democrat, and don't you have that Move On organization bookmarked?"

[SteppingRazor]

3. Do you anti-Obama folks have some central location where you pick up marching orders?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3535505&mesg_id=3535505

[durrrty libby]

4. I am not an Obama supporter, but the whole event is dumb. Why did the Dems

even go along with it? Senators have to comment on ads?

Don't they have anything better to do?

[Trisket-Bisket]

5. Well B.O. must be careful.

It seems his campaign has "Jumped the Shark".

[LSK]

6. are you kidding me? this crap shouldnt have been given the time of day

None of the Dems should have even voted.

[Catchawave]

7. .....and the AARP tonight

Okay, somebody's going to tell me this is a political strategy and he's brilliant. Uh, like Rove?

[durrrty libby]

10. He made a big mistake kissing off the Seniors. They are a huge

block of voters and will spread the word that Obama dissed them

[Ian David]

8. His mother had passed away 20 minutes before the vote.

Not really.

But wouldn't you feel bad if it had been true?

[Clintonista2]

11. Check out his voting record on abortion issues while in the state senate. He always voted "present"

So this is not unusual for him.

[Skittles]

12. I think it was a smart move

the censure is absolute McCarthyism GARBAGE, designed specifically to be used against Democratic candidates. Why give those treasonous bastards the satisfaction?

[flpoljunkie]

13. One could well argue that Hillary never misses a chance to pander to a particular constituency

The particular constituency in this case being MoveOn.org.

[mark414]

14. umm....

Obama explains his non-vote

Posted: Thursday, September 20, 2007 4:17 PM by Mark Murray

From NBC's Mark Murray

Obama's presidential campaign gives First Read this statement from Obama about not voting today on the Senate measure condemning the MoveOn.org print ad criticizing Gen. David Petraeus.

"The focus of the United States Senate should be on ending this war, not on criticizing newspaper advertisements," Obama says. "This amendment was a stunt designed only to score cheap political points while what we should be doing is focusing on the deadly serious challenge we face in Iraq. It's precisely this kind of political game-playing that makes most Americans cynical about Washington's ability to solve America's problems. By not casting a vote, I registered my protest against this empty politics. I registered my views on the ad itself the day it appeared.

Obama goes on to say, "All of us respect the service of General Petraeus and all of our brave men and women in uniform. The way to honor that service is to give them a mission that is responsible, not to vote on amendments like the Cornyn amendment while we continue to pursue the wrong policy in Iraq."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x3536287