Obama's "Present" Problems

There's a lot of talk here that Obama did nothing wrong by voting "present" more than 100 times in Illinois -- that this is simply how things are done in the Land of Lincoln.

But there is a real issue here -- about Obama's willingness to take on the fights against the right wing that we need a president to take on.

Let's recall Obama's very troubling vote last fall in the U.S. Senate on the resolution to condemn Moveon.org.

Follow me after the flip

Senate Republicans introduced a resolution to condemn Moveon.org for its ad condemning General Petraeus -- the famous "betray us" ad.

It was an ugly resolution, aimed directly at online activists -- in this case, the 3.2 million members of Moveon.org.

Shamefully, the resolution passed 72-25.  Hillary Clinton voted No.  Chris Dodd, who was also running for President, voted No.

Obama? He voted Present.  As the New York Times reported, he said, "By not casting a vote, I registered my protest against these empty politics."

Hillary Clinton registered her protest the correct way: by voting no.

This voting present is not simply an Illinois thing.  Obama could not bring himself to do what those in the liberal blogosphere expected their elected officials to do: vote no on an odious resolution.

I'd like to hear more explanation of why he voted present on this vote -- and why we should trust him to stand up as President on the tough issues, rather than registering his views through inaction.