I'm calling bullshit on the attacks on Obama for skipping the vote

[Hippo_Tron]

I'm sorry, but running for President requires you to skip votes and if his constituency is pissed off about that they can vote him out of office. How would you feel if you showed up to a rally to hear your candidate speak only to learn that the candidate had suddenly canceled. That is what Obama would have had to do to make it back to the Senate to vote today.

And in case your memory is short The Republicans hurled the same bullshit attacks on John Kerry in 2004 about his missing votes and about how Bush can manage to campaign and do his job at the same time just fine.

I've heard the same stupid things posted here today "Well how can we trust Obama to manage his time as President if he can't do it as a Senator and a candidate."

Well actually, that question has a pretty simple answer. The President has a private plane that takes off and lands whenever and wherever he wants it to. He also has a motorcade and a police escort that blocks off roads so that he can drive places faster. Also, people adjust their schedules to meet with the President. He doesn't have to conform to other peoples' schedules, he sets his own.

If you live in Illinois and are pissed that you aren't being properly represented, then that's fine, vote for somebody else next time. But if you don't and you are still attacking Obama, I don't think you have an appreciation of how hard it is to run for President.

[Mass]

1. Happy to be your first recommend.

[Kagemusha]

2. You are so right about the private plane and motorcade etc etc.

If Bush can manage his time, how can we possibly believe Obama can't? That's getting silly.

And that's totally besides the Lieberman amendment today being a) toothless b) insulting to the rational mind.

[Hydra]

6. We'll find out how "toothless" the amendment was very soon, I think

And I doubt I'll like the answer to that.

[Kagemusha]

11. No, we won't. The amendment is meaningless.

Its blessing is not required, nor is it any aid, to launching military action against Iran with the discretion provided by the War Powers Act.

[Hydra]

15. True

But Bush likes to get people to sign papers that says he can do it first. That way, he can say, "If you didn't support it, why did you sign on the dotted line?"

[Donnachaidh]

3. then if it's so difficult to run for president -- how come the others voted?

Real tough to collect a salary to represent people, and then NOT do so.

I call bullshit on this thread.

[Hippo_Tron]

5. They were fortunate to not have campaign related events scheduled

They have all missed votes previously for campaign related reasons.

[Beaverhausen]

13. They are all going to a debate tonight in New Hampshire

BULLFUCKINGSHIT he couldn't vote today.

[Hippo_Tron]

16. Did they all have rallies scheduled in New Hampshire today?

The debate is tonight, it wasn't today. That makes a bit of a difference doesn't it?

[Justitia]

4. I'm waiting for the facts. And clarification on exactly what Reid did, before blasting away. -eom

[Clintonista2]

7. Obama misses 3 times the votes that Hillary does

Explain.

[ima_sinnic]

37. yeah, HRC has to make sure her non-binding meaningless vote is counted

--isn't that special. she can "maintain an image" without taking a stand on anything! too bad that "image" is simply that of a warmonger!

while I would have loved to have seen Obama vote against it, which I have to assume he would, ignoring it is fine with me too. And I have felt pretty much neutral about Obama.

[Clintonista2]

48. NON-BINDING?

Oh no, HIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ima_sinnic]

50. ? what exactly does that mean? btw, what if it were binding?

she would vote against it then? how fortunate for the clever little triangulator, that she can vote for going to war against Iran while not committing herself to anything and getting her lackeys to excuse it as "political pragmatism." Her corporate paymasters are happy, her robotic worshippers are happy (well, it seems they're happy no matter what she does or says, no matter how hard they're being worked or manipulated, go figure), she's happy b/c she didn't have to stick her neck out or anything--nothing's changed at all and nothing ever will, so everybody just move along, this amounts to nothing at all, same shit different day, the status quo is preserved intact, nothing to be alarmed about, go back to sleep.

a forked-tongue warmonger--gee, isn't that special! something truly courageous, original, innovative, and really REALLY in the best interests of the American People!! :sarcasm: (added b/c there appears to be an issue of, er, denseness (to put it delicately) among the HRC fans.)

[zanne]

8. Obama doesn't have Bill Clinton campaigning for him. nt

[jillan]

12. No - but he has Oprah.

[beachmom]

53. Oprah is not campaigning for Obama. Just fundraising. n/t

[2rth2pwr]

35. and Michelle nt

[zanne]

51. What I meant was....

He isn't married to a former president who can step in for him when he's sick.

[BadgerLaw2010]

9. The problem is he has a habit of missing/"voting present" on big votes. Why?

[Capn Sunshine]

28. Big votes?

Like the IWR?

[Ethelk2044]

33. Obama had a good record for voting until he started running for PreZ. I do not see

Illinois people complaining. They want him in the office of Prez. He is working towards that cause.

[maximusveritas]

34. He's voted present or purposely skipped votes when the Republicans were playing political games

That was true in the Illinois Senate when the Republicans tried to play games with a woman's right to choose and it's true when they tried to play games with the MoveOn ad.
As far as I know, today's votes were the only "big" votes he's missed for any other reason.

[ElizabethDC]

10. Hillary manages to make many more of her votes and still run for president

Obama has missed 23.7%, while Hillary has only missed only 8.1%.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200709240004

[FlaxieB]

14. Obama is doing just fine. His voting record is no different than the other candidates.

[Cha]

17. But bush's job was campaigning and

repukes lie and whine like stuck assholes.

I'm waiting to see this play out..now we know for sure Obama was in New Hampshire..before "he was there but didn't vote."

[redqueen]

18. Didn't Reid tell him that the vote wouldn't be soon?

So...

:shrug:

[Kelly Rupert]

19. Link n/t?

[redqueen]

23. ...

http://tpmelectioncentral.com/2007/09/majority_of_senate_dems_vote_for_liebermankyl_amendment.php#more

[Exultant Democracy]

20. Yes Mama, they moved up the vote.

[Bitwit1234]

21. SO

If Obama gets slammed it's terrible terrible terrible. But you people post and bash and slur Hillary all day long. Sounds sorta republican talking points to me.

[Hippo_Tron]

32. I defended other candidates when they were attacked for missing votes

No double standard on my part.

[huskerlaw]

22. Has he publicly stated

which way he would have voted if he had been available to do so?

If not, I'm going to call bullshit on your defense of him.

[jillan]

24. bingo!

[IronLionZion]

25. The president doesn't have to be in Washington to work

US Senators have to be present in order to vote, and the vote schedule can be unpredictable. like when they switched it up on Kerry when he flew back to vote on some veterans bill. The Repubes said he wasn't there to stop them from screwing our veterans by cutting their benefits.

[truedelphi]

26. In this particular case, if my candidate was going back to

Washington to help ensure that possibly WWIII would be averted, I think I would be fine with it.

[jefferson_dem]

27. Faux outrage from all the usual suspects.

So predictable.

[Totally Committed]

29. F*ck that! On a vote of War & Peace, I expect EVERY SINGLE CANDIDATE to be on the record.

I don't care if he was so sick, he had to vote with a wastebasket in his lap, he should have voted. It was too important a piece of information to keep from the voters.

So, unless he was in ICU, He should have been there.

TC

[LittleClarkie]

30. But... but... but... what will the Hillary people have to complain about THEN

I mean, come on. Throw them a bone, eh?

[Ethelk2044]

31. Amen

[Imagevision]

36. Obama is the best shot we got for a chance at NEW leadership,NEW direction...

end of story!!!

[dogman]

42. Some of us in Illinois thought that when we elected him to the Senate.

Not so much.

[KoKo]

38. Hillary is running and she was there for vote...along with Biden & Dodd?

He's missed two crucial votes. :shrug:

[2rth2pwr]

39. It's way too convenient that the votes he misses, always seem to be

these highly charged and potentially controversial votes. It's a pattern that he established as a state legislator, seems like it worked for him before.

I prefer a candidate that stands up and is counted.

[hedgehog]

41. Link to his state record?

[2rth2pwr]

46. Here are some "present" votes

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/02/the_everpresent_obama.html

"We aren't talking about a "present" vote on whether to name a state office building after a deceased state official, but rather about votes that reflect an officeholder's core values.

For example, in 1997, Obama voted "present" on two bills (HB 382 and SB 230) that would have prohibited a procedure often referred to as partial birth abortion. He also voted "present" on SB 71, which lowered the first offense of carrying a concealed weapon from a felony to a misdemeanor and raised the penalty of subsequent offenses.

In 1999, Obama voted "present" on SB 759, a bill that required mandatory adult prosecution for firing a gun on or near school grounds. The bill passed the state Senate 52-1. Also in 1999, Obama voted "present" on HB 854 that protected the privacy of sex-abuse victims by allowing petitions to have the trial records sealed. He was the only member to not support the bill.

In 2001, Obama voted "present" on two parental notification abortion bills (HB 1900 and SB 562), and he voted "present" on a series of bills (SB 1093, 1094, 1095) that sought to protect a child if it survived a failed abortion. In his book, the Audacity of Hope, on page 132, Obama explained his problems with the "born alive" bills, specifically arguing that they would overturn Roe v. Wade. But he failed to mention that he only felt strongly enough to vote "present" on the bills instead of "no."

And finally in 2001, Obama voted "present" on SB 609, a bill prohibiting strip clubs and other adult establishments from being within 1,000 feet of schools, churches, and daycares.

If Obama had taken a position for or against these bills, he would have pleased some constituents and alienated others. Instead, the Illinois legislator-turned-U.S. senator and, now, Democratic presidential hopeful essentially took a pass."

[2rth2pwr]

47. link to complete voting record

http://votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=9490

[hedgehog]

40. So, it's terrible that Obama skipped the vote even though he was

sick as a dog but it's OK that Hillary voted yea because she is already pandering in case she gets the nomination? That's the argument I've seen all over other threads today. Also, Obama should have been there because this vote was so important but Hillary's yea was OK because this amendment is meaningless.

[illinoisprogressive]

43. I live in Illinois and want Obama to be president. I don't care if he misses some votes.

[Ethelk2044]

44. That is whose voice matters

[depakid]

45. "if his constituency is pissed off about that they can vote him out of office."

I wouldn't entirely discount that possibility.

[AtomicKitten]

49. I agree.

My personal favorite is the arbitrarily assigned reasons for skipping the votes and detailed psychoanalysis of what it all means - DU style.

That said, if that's all they've got banging on Obama, I'm delighted.

[Perry Logan]

52. If it were Hillary, you'd be condeming her to Hell and calling her all sorts of nasty names.

[Hippo_Tron]

54. Nope, this is on principle, I've defended other candidates for it in the past

I don't doubt that some Obama supporters would do that and they would be wrong to do so. I made up my mind about this issue when I saw the Republicans attacking Kerry for it in 2004 and I have not and will not waver from my stance.

[Freddie Stubbs]

55. The problem is that Obama is missing a lot more votes than Hillary

Why is she able to campaign while missing far fewer votes?