The NYT in 2007 accurately raised the alarm about Obama’s voting record in Illinois as a Senator—when he would vote “present” on difficult issues, like gun control. If he knew he’d get in trouble with Chicago gangs and Blacks, he just didn’t say yes or no.
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 vote on the juvenile-justice bill [ to let children as young as 15 be prosecuted as adults if charged with committing a crime with a firearm on or near school grounds] appears to be a case when Mr. Obama, who represented a racially mixed district on the South Side of Chicago, faced pressure. It also occurred about six months before he announced an ultimately unsuccessful campaign against a popular black congressman, Bobby L. Rush. . .
The measure passed both houses overwhelmingly. In explaining his present vote on the floor of the Senate, Mr. Obama said there was no proof that increasing penalties for young offenders reduced crime, though he acknowledged that the bill had fairly unanimous support.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
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2 comments:
Murray sez:
It might be my imagination working overtime but I think I've noticed that Obama always seems to distance himself from administrative problems. "I didn't know" is always good cover for thy ass and "the buck stops here" seems to always work for him and Hillary. I just don't know how the buck knows where to stop since nobody else seems to know where they're at during crunch time.
Voting present instead standing for something got him far. Why change now?
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