About the always voting "present" thing...
I have to preface this saying that its not my intention to convince anyone--I'm just putting another perspective out there. Those remarks on Obama voting present 130 times, which are often used as campaign catchphrases, largely oversimplify the situation for the soundbite. Not blaming anyone, it's a media thing. I've been scouring the web for weeks (left and right blogospheres) to get a better rundown of both candidates and it's been relatively difficult to get straight information.
(Btw, I need to thank Roger for mentioning National Journal way back when, it's been really helpful and unsnarky, which I've come to appreciate).
For those who are wondering 'what the...'(as I was when this statement seeped into my head), the NYT has something
here . I don't find it a particularly biased article, but I'll be the last to claim objectivity, so 'grain of salt' for those who dislike/distrust the publication (and go read it anyway). Basically the article states that the "present" vote is just a day-to-day politics thing, to address tough issues from how a bill is written, to party strategies to pass or not pass something in an ambiguous situation, and yes there is an element of political self-preservation/expediency as well depending on how one looks at it.
This goes more into Obama's reasons for several hairy "presents" concerning crime. I found it eye-opening, because at first glance, I was surprised, to say the least, that some bills didn't get an automatic "yes."
There is a lot of talk about transparency in politics and the need for people to be up front. However, realistically, the political establishment won't tolerate anything that deviates too far from business-as-usual. There are always compromises to be made in order to stay in the game. I could cite McCain's own compromises for political self-preservation/expediency, but I'm sure die-hard Republicans could do a much better job, since McCain has had his own history with political maneuvering.
Pretty much the only thing we can do is figure out our deal breakers and check on soundbites to decide what compromises we will tolerate and what we won't.
alcyone
