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Thursday, December 20, 2007

Here's my problem with Barack Obama
Posted by Jill | 6:40 AM
If Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee, I will vote for him, but he still strikes me as the college guy who hides in his room during the frat parties lest something happen that might damage his presidential aspirations later on. His refusal to see that for today's Republicans, bipartisanship means "Do it our way or fuck off" is enough of a problem, but the pattern of not wanting to leave a track record of votes indicates an unwillingness to take a stand when it counts:

Sometimes the “present’ votes were in line with instructions from Democratic leaders or because he objected to provisions in bills that he might otherwise support. At other times, Mr. Obama voted present on questions that had overwhelming bipartisan support. In at least a few cases, the issue was politically sensitive.

The record has become an issue on the presidential campaign trail, as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, his chief rival for the Democratic nomination, has seized on the present votes he cast on a series of anti-abortion bills to portray Mr. Obama as a “talker” rather than a “doer.”

Although a present vote is not unusual in Illinois, Mr. Obama’s use of it is being raised as he tries to distinguish himself as a leader who will take on the tough issues, even if it means telling people the “hard truths” they do not want to hear.

Mr. Obama’s aides and some allies dispute the characterization that a present vote is tantamount to ducking an issue. They said Mr. Obama cast 4,000 votes in the Illinois Senate and used the present vote to protest bills that he believed had been drafted unconstitutionally or as part of a broader legislative strategy.

“No politically motivated attacks in the 11th hour of a closely contested campaign can erase a record of leadership and courage,” said Bill Burton, Mr. Obama’s spokesman.

An examination of Illinois records shows at least 36 times when Mr. Obama was either the only state senator to vote present or was part of a group of six or fewer to vote that way.

In more than 50 votes, he seemed to be acting in concert with other Democrats as part of a strategy.

For a juvenile-justice bill, lobbyists and fellow lawmakers say, a political calculus could have been behind Mr. Obama’s present vote. On other measures like the anti-abortion bills, which Republicans proposed, Mr. Obama voted present to help more vulnerable Democrats under pressure to cast “no” votes.

In other cases, Mr. Obama’s present votes stood out among widespread support as he tried to use them to register legal and other objections to parts of the bills.

In Illinois, political experts say voting present is a relatively common way for lawmakers to express disapproval of a measure. It can at times help avoid running the risks of voting no, they add.

“If you are worried about your next election, the present vote gives you political cover,” said Kent D. 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.”


Perhaps. But one would think that a politician who hopes to represent change and straightforwardness would be more willing to take stands on controversial issues. If he thought a bill was unconstitutional, or might be ineffective, why not just vote "No"?

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3 Comments:
Blogger Bob said...
Krugman summed it up in Monday's column: "nothing Mr. Obama has said suggests that he appreciates the bitterness of the battles he will have to fight if he does become president, and tries to get anything done."
12/20/07, 5:04 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...
A lot of outsiders are trying to castigate Obama for his "present" votes, but for people who know IL politics, their attempts are failing.

You can hold a lot against Obama, but the "present" vote faux-controvery does not hold water.

I'd encourage you especially to read the comment section at the link - it has a lot of useful information too.

Lest you think I'm an Obama apologist, I'm not. I donated to the Dodd campaign when he threatened to filibuster telecomm amnesty, and posted multiple messages on my home state Senator's website when Dodd actually went back to Washington to lead, while Obama continued campaigning.

But the "present" votes stuff....c'mon, you're going to need to do better than that.....
12/21/07, 3:26 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...
As argued in some of the comments in the Zorn blog, the "present" vote controversy actually does hold water. Namely, that Obama's "present" votes were a tactic to allow other politicians to duck responsibility for voting "no" on a controversial issue.

What is also controversial, possibly more so, is the fact that Obama, whose salary we the taxpayers foot, has not been performing his duties as Illinois senator, instead going around the country rounding up votes for the presidency after serving only 2 actual work-years in the Senate. He has missed 38% of the votes this year, and we still pay him the same (compare with Clinton's 23% miss rate). He is, indeed, an inspiring figure, but he needs to put in a few days of hard work before we can trust the job he'd do as president.
1/4/08, 10:49 AM  
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