>>Well, there is the fact that he likes to vote PRESENT. What the heck is that? He might as well vote RADIO, PLASTIC, RED er I mean BLUE..
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>>http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html
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>Did you at least skim the article? He voted "present" 130 times out of around 4000 votes. That's about 3%.
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>It also raises a good question. What should a legislator do when presented with a bill he mostly approves of, but which contains some objectionable provisions? Hold his nose and vote "yes"? Vote "no" even though he mostly approves of it?
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>This is clearly an issue many legislators face. And, in the current political climate, whatever choice they make, they'll get blasted for it. Remember "I voted for it before I voted against it" (or the other way 'round)--it was the same kind of problem. A bill that was mostly okay, but contained something objectionable.
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>FWIW, one of things I like about Obama is that he assumes that Americans can actually understand nuance and want to hear more than sound bites.
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Voting "present" also has a unique role in the Illinois legislature that it doesn't have in other states. But those who want to bash Obama aren't going to be troubled by little facts like that.