« The Great Migration of the Hispanic Vote (Guest Voice)
Around the Political Sphere Today »



An Ovation For Ted & A Raspberry For John

July 10th, 2008
By SHAUN MULLEN, TMV Columnist

Print Print

20080709kennedy.533.jpg

It’s a given that presidential candidates who are running for president are going to miss a vote or three, but the situation with John McCain is ridiculous.

The Republican wannabe has not voted since April 8, missing a total of 76 votes. This includes several key votes on important legislation, among them Social Security, which he views as “a total disgrace,” and expanding veterans’ GI bill benefits, which he vociferously opposed and then took credit for after that bill passed.

Ted Kennedy, who is not running for president but merely for his life because of brain cancer, went where McCain no longer treads yesterday and cast the decisive vote in favor of moving the Medicare bill on to final passage.

Kennedy received a sustained standing ovation for his valor; McCain, who was the only senator to miss the vote, deserves a raspberry.

And needs someone to tell him that between missing Senate votes, joking about killing Iranians with American cigarettes and being an amnesiac on cue when confronted with one of his myriad flip flops, he is running an extraordinarily ham-handed campaign that at many turns casts him as not only unpresidential, but a real goofball.

More here.

Photograph by Lauren Victoria Burke/The Associated Press



This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 7:36 am and is filed under Newsweek Blogitics, Senate, John McCain, 2008 Elections. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Viewing 7 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    Ah, Shaun's pro-Obama bias. Nothing here about Obama's missed votes...almost as bad as McCain...or Kerry's in 2004 (far worse than either!)

    This is SOP for Senatorial candidates (see below quote)

    I imagine Shaun would be beside himself with delight if McCain showed up for all his votes...and Obama showed up for none.

    Then, I imagine, Shaun's post would be something like"
    "McLame Does Not Take the Presidency Seriously":

    "McCain has cast 36 of the Senate's 169 votes this year, according to a USA TODAY analysis. Obama: 70 votes. Their truancy began in 2007, long before the primaries and caucuses. McCain's voting participation score, as tabulated by non-partisan Congressional Quarterly, dropped from 91% in 2006 to 44% last year. Obama fell from 99% in 2006 to 66% last year.In 2004, then-Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, a Massachusetts senator, showed up for only 10% of the votes he was supposed to cast. Given the slow and unpredictable pace of business in the Senate, a candidate "could lose a whole day on the campaign trail waiting for a bill to come up," notes Ray Smock, director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies at West Virginia's Shepherd University."
    http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2...
    • ^
    • v
    Marlowecan - I must take exception with your characterization of Shaun. This post is not an example of any 'pro-Obama' bias, but rather his permanent hatred of anyone and anything Republican (or maybe non-Democratic Party, but that is splitting hairs).

    You never really need to read his posts. Just look at the headline, say to yourself 'if I had that headline to work with, and a goal to smear Republicans, what would I write?' You will be 90% accurate or better, every time.
    • ^
    • v
    Marlowecan:

    Nice try but you whiffed. What your cliplet does not note is that Obama (and Clinton) have showed up for key votes without fail, if not all votes. McCain has been AWOL for all.
    • ^
    • v
    Obama was even there yesterday to vote to kill the 4th Amendment. See, he shows up!
    • ^
    • v
    Shaun said: "What your cliplet does not note is that Obama (and Clinton) have showed up for key votes without fail, if not all votes. McCain has been AWOL for all."

    Shaun, it is a simple equation, as the prof. notes in my cliplet. Time spent in the Senate for even a single vote - like the FISA vote - means at least 1 day off the campaign/fundraising trail.

    Clinton ain't going nowhere...so she can sit in the Senate for the rest of her life.
    Obama has the luxury of being there for more votes...as he is ahead in the polls and fundraising. He also enjoys a 2:1 media coverage lead over McCain, so he can spend more time in the Senate and still dominate the media.

    McCain is playing catch-up (badly, I might add) and thus cannot needs to be on the trail more.

    This is not a GOP/Dem. or McCain/Obama virtue question. It is a simple equation. Were Obama in McCain's shoes, he would likely be out of town more.
    • ^
    • v
    Not just _any_ Republicans, A.R., but especially *** BUSH ***

    (and "equal time" simply means an occasional bashing of a Dem who voted in favor of the Iraq war)
    • ^
    • v
    Both McCain and Obama's absence records have gone up significantly in the past year or so. According to govtrack.us, in Q1 2008, Obama missed 31 votes and McCain missed 50. In Q2, Obama has missed 60 compared to McCain's 68.

    There's the numbers. Interpret them as you will.
 
close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus

« The Great Migration of the Hispanic Vote (Guest Voice)
Around the Political Sphere Today »


By posting comments on The Moderate Voice you are acknowledging and agreeing to the following general comments policy:

(1) The Moderate Voice's comments are hosted by Disqus (http://disqus.com). If your comment doesn't appear immediately, please be patient since it is an off-site system.

(2) All e-mail received from readers by The Moderate Voice is considered intended for publication unless otherwise indicated in the initial message from the writer. Please do not send us attachments unless you contact us and we agree to it.

(3)The Moderate Voice reserves the right to edit all e-mail and posted comments for content, clarity, and length.

(4) Our comment space is reserved for comments that relate to a post's topic. You should not reprint lengthy text from your own works or those of others, including news articles. You MAY link to them.

(5) Comments that are abusive, offensive, contain profane or racist material or violate the terms of service for this blog's host provider will be removed and the author(s) banned from future comments. Such comments also violate the very SPIRIT of this site -- which was created to encourage thoughtful and vigorous discussion among readers who may share differing viewpoints.

(6) All points of view are welcome on The Moderate Voice, with the following exceptions:

(a) Comments posted several times a day with the intent of dominating, re-directing or hijacking the thread by turning a discussion into the equivalent of a bitter shouting match.

(b) Comments posted several times a day that insult or call other commenters or blog writers names or repeatedly make the same point with the effect of or clear intent to annoy other commenters or blog writers.

(7) Name-calling, personal attacks, racist comments or use of profanity by any commenter, whether they are by persons who agree or disagree with the views expressed by The Moderate Voice will NOT be tolerated and will result in the deletion of the comment and the banning of the commenter's ISP address, without notice. In some cases a comment may be deleted and the writer will be given another chance. Commenters who virtually ASK The Moderate Voice to ban them by ignoring any warnings or daring TMV to ban them will quickly get their wish.

(8) Anonymous commenters should identify themselves with the same moniker, so readers know their comments are coming from a single individual. If they don't, they are subject to a banning.

(9)If we have problems with inappropriate or inflammatory comments from a commenter who it turns out gave a fake email address that person is subject to immediate banning.

(10) Quotes from material appearing on The Moderate Voice with attribution are allowed. Reprints are allowed only by permission from The Moderate Voice. You may request permission by e-mail.

(11) The Moderate Voice is a personal site. It is not the Government. It is NOT aligned with any political party. It is NOT promoting any specific candidate for office. It is not a public institution or a media organization. It is not a neutral site. It is intended to express and disseminate the authors' varying points of views. Writers on this weblog WILL take positions. It reserves the right to limit comments to those that, in its view, comport with its stated comment policy. Comments that do not comply are subject to deletion and banning of the author's ISP.

Disclaimer:

--Reading and posting comments at The Moderate Voice constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to the terms outlined in this comment policy. This comment policy may be revised in part or in full at any time.

--All comments must comport with applicable state and federal laws. The Moderate Voice has no obigation to monitor, edit, censor, or take responsibility for comments. It may or may not act upon a violation of its comment policy once a suspected violation has been brought to its attention. Therefore, commenters are solely responsible for the content of their comments and should ensure that that their comments are lawful and fall within the stated guidelines of both The Moderate Voice and its hosting company.

--The Moderate Voice is not be responsible for injury or liability to any reader or commenter resulting from its own communications or those of commenters, that may be offensive, misleading, inaccurate, illegal, or otherwise unsuitable in the view of the reader. Readers and commenters further agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Moderate Voice from claims resulting from the use of any material appearing on The Moderate Voice which damages the reader, commenter or any other party.

--The Moderate Voice is not responsible for and might disagree with material posted in the comments section. While we strive for accuracy in our posts and DO correct errors, material posted by The Moderate Voice in its posts -- or those left by others in the comments section -- may or may not be accurate.

Read and Post at your own risk.