Partisans go back and forth on Obama's 'present' votes

[JonLP24]

Source: South Town Star

SPRINGFIELD - Call it the presidential campaign's present tense.

Partisans for Barack Obama and John McCain are going back and forth over how much to make of the 129 times that Obama voted "present" on legislation when he was in the Illinois Senate.

Obama's critics point to his "present" votes to bolster their characterization of the Democratic presidential contender as an empty suit who avoids tough decisions. If Obama wouldn't vote "yes" or "no," they argue, he must be unwilling to stand up for what he believes.

But "present" votes are common in the Illinois General Assembly and used for far more than ducking an issue.

Sometimes lawmakers vote "present" when they have a conflict of interest. In other cases, they do it to register opposition to a procedural decision or to signal that they support a bill's goal but believe the legislation is flawed.

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"It was somewhat standard to cast a 'present' vote," said Patrick Welch, a former Democratic senator. "A lot of the bills that came up on the floor when Republicans were in the majority were designed to catch Democrats in the crosshairs."q

Read more: http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1181151,092408present.article

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The article also mentions that his "present" votes only account for 3.5% of the votes he cast in nearly 8 years as a state Senator.

[Just-plain-Kathy]

1. I explained this to a niece of mine who was on the fence about Obama for this reason.

It's a very important message.

[madrchsod]

2. did`t bother the 70% of us who voted for him in 2004

standard operating procedure in illinois

[truthisfreedom]

3. *yawn*

[BumRushDaShow]

4. No one talks about the repukes in Congress when they vote "present" as a protest. n/t