Rather than vote for Obama, I think I'll vote "Present."
No seriously. If Obama can vote "Present" over 100 times why don't we just vote "Present" when voting for him? Surely if it's good enough for him, then it must be good enough for us.
All Obama supporters should vote for him by writing in "Present." If your candidate can't take a stand on the issues, why should you take a stand for him?
What's he going to do as President when a bill comes in and he can't decide what to do? Can the President just sign the bill "Present?"
Barack Obama announced his candidacy and said, "What's stopped us is the failure of leadership ... our chronic avoidance of tough decisions." But how did he make the tough decisions?
He voted on the tough issues. He just did not vote for them or against them. He rather voted "present." That's an option in the Illinois legislature. He voted "present" twice on two bills that would have prohibited a procedure partial-birth abortion. He voted "present" on a bill which called for mandatory prosecution for firing a gun on or near school grounds, he voted "present" on a bill which protected the privacy of sexual-abuse victims, he voted "present" on two parental notification abortion bills, and "present" on a bill prohibiting strip clubs and other adult establishments (near) schools and churches.
So, Is Obama a bold leader - Yes? No?
We say, "Present."
In 1999, Barack Obama was faced with a difficult vote in the Illinois legislature — to support a bill that would let some juveniles be tried as adults, a position that risked drawing fire from African-Americans, or to oppose it, possibly undermining his image as a tough-on-crime moderate.
In the end, Obama chose neither to vote for nor against the bill. He voted "present," effectively sidestepping the issue, an option he invoked nearly 130 times as a state senator.
"If you are worried about your next election, the present vote gives you political cover," said Kent Redfield, a professor of political studies at the University of Illinois at Springfield. "This is an option that does not exist in every state and reflects Illinois political culture."
Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.), charged Obama had "taken the easy way out" and questioned "whether or not this was a strategy to try to have an intentionally vague record going forward."
"The reason we’re focusing on this," said Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones (D-Ohio), "is the president of the United States needs to take stands on tough issues....he or she needs to say, yes, this is my position or no, this is my position."
Republican operatives have been examining Obama's record in Springfield, Illinois, and think they have caught Obama voting the wrong side of an abortion bill that will turn off the public "like partial birth abortion cubed," in the words of one GOP operative.
The bill would have required medical care for babies born during unsuccessful abortions -- an issue no Democrat trying to win over independents and Republicans would want to spend any time discussing.
The Republican party, of course, plans on attacking whoever wins the Democratic nomination. Clinton will be called partisan and shrill; Edwards a slick trial lawyer; Obama too inexperienced. Whoever wins will be painted as too liberal for America.
But Obama's abortion vote, the GOP hopes, may prove to be the sort that Clinton alludes to when she suggests he has not been vetted, his having been blessed by the Gods of Fate during his 2004 US Senate campaign.
Stories...
http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/...
http://www.iht.com/...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/...
http://english.daralhayat.com/...