Sen. Obama And The Present Vote

Barack Obama, with his many flaws, has one that truly exemplifies his leadership ability, or lack there of.  For those who don't know, when voting in a legislative body, there are essentially 3 votes that can be made---yes, no, or present.  The vote "present" is more or less taking a pass on the vote and refusing to take a stand.  It is a tactic often used by politicians to avoid taking a position on a controversial issue.  So, if anything, Obama's liberal use of the "present" vote exemplifies this man's lack of strength in standing up to critics and taking, what can be, unpopular, but none the less important, positions.  Here are just some quotes on Obama's present votes on those very important issues:

-"Sen. Obama voted 'present' 129 times while in the State Senate." (New York Times, 12/20/07)

-"At least 36 times, Sen. Obama was either the only State Senator to vote present or was part of a group of six or fewer to vote that way. "  (New York Times, 12/20/07)

-"Sen. Obama was the only State Senator to vote 'present' on a bill that sought to protect the privacy of sex-abuse victims, and the only state senator to not support the bill." (HB854, Passed 58-0-1, 05/11/99)

-"Sen. Obama was the only State Senator to vote 'present' on an adoption bill that imposed stricter requirements for parental fitness, and the only State Senator to not support the bill." (HB1298, Passed 57-0-1, 5/6/1999)

-"Sen. Obama voted 'present' on a bill that would increase penalties for the use of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. The bill called for the mandatory adult persecution of a minor at least 15 years of age being tried for using a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school." (SB759, Passed 52-1-5,3/25/1999)

-"Sen. Obama voted 'present' on a bill to prohibit the presence of adult sex shops near schools, places of worship, and day care facilities; bill allows local governments to regulate the presence of adult sex shops." (SB609, Passed 33-15-5, 3/29/2001)

-"During Sen. Obama’s 2004 Senate campaign, the Illinois NOW PAC did not recommend the endorsement of Obama for U.S. Senate because he refused to stand up for a woman’s right to choose and repeatedly voted ‘present’ on important legislation.

As a State Senator, Barack Obama voted ‘present’ on seven abortion bills, including a ban on 'partial birth abortion,' two parental notification laws and three 'born alive' bills. In each case, the right vote was clear, but Sen. Obama chose political cover over standing and fighting for his convictions.

'When we needed someone to take a stand, Sen. Obama took a pass,' said Grabenhofer. 'He wasn’t there for us then and we don’t expect him to be now.'"  (Illinois Now)

As far as I'm concerned, America needs someone who has proven to have the strength, perseverance, and leadership to tackle tough, controversial, but critical, issues.  To know how a person will govern in the future, you just have to look at his/her past. And Obama's past record shows a clear, undeniable refusal to take a firm stand on issues very important to Americans.