Something to consider about the thought of "President Barack Obama" and his leadership qualifications.
As Rudy Giuliani said last night:
On the other hand, you have a resume from a gifted man with an Ivy League education. He worked as a community organizer, and immersed himself in Chicago machine politics. Then he ran for the state legislature - where nearly 130 times he was unable to make a decision yes or no. He simply voted "present."
As Mayor of New York City, I never got a chance to vote "present." And you know, when you're President of the United States, you can't just vote "present." You must make decisions.
Remember, a teleprompter can't come up with policy decisions on it's own.
So what would President Obama do when Iran brings their nuclear program fully online and starts building nuclear weapons? The headline: "Iranians Build Nuclear Missile; President Obama Votes 'Present'".
Or what would President Obama do if terrorists blew up the Sears Tower in Chicago? The headline: "Al Qaeda Claims Responsibility for Sears Bombing; President Obama Votes 'Present'".
What else can you expect from someone who has already avoided much less difficult stands?
9 comments:
In the Illinois State Senate a 'Present' vote is a no vote, with an explanation behind it.
It is not, as Republicans and previously Hillary Clinton tried to describe it, a vote for not making a decision.
Republicans know this, and if they don't, it's not that hard to find out. But it's much easier and more beneficial to make it seem like it's an indecisive vote.
Thanks for clarifying that, Braden.
I guess I prefer Jesus' approach: Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
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.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/20/us/politics/20obama.html
130 times present is less than 1/2% of the votes he cast.
McCain's absentee senate record is far worse if that is your criteria
OK by that logic I guess next time Senator McCain votes against a war funding bill, say, because he wants MORE money for them than what the bill provides, I guess he should just say "No." Any clarification makes him a devil worshiper?
When Jesus made that quote he was talking about swearing by things, like "I swear to.." such and such. He said don't swear by anything. Either say yes or no. He was not talking about Illinois State Senate voting rules. Nice try, but I actually HAVE read the Bible.
I'm glad you've read the Bible, Braden. Do you deny that God would have us come down solidly on most issues (Revelation 3:15-16) instead of quibbling?
As I said earlier, a 'Present' vote is a no vote, with an explanation as to why you object to that vote. It is NOT an indecisive vote.
Seems to me that a conscientious representative would vote "Present" all the time when voting negative so they could always record why they voted no.
Otherwise it looks like quibbling.
As usual, I think it would do good to look beyond the loaded terms we see in politics; what does 'present' functionally stand for in Illinois state politics, and what was the context of each of the present vote?
I will add this opinion: any legislator has to sacrifice his principles quite often for sake of actually getting things done. It seems to be an unbalanced to compare modus operanda of legislators, who have X number of peers in the chamber, and a governor, who has none within the executive branch to have to negotiate with.
I don't think Jesus had much experience with contemporary republican (little r) government, considering it didn't exist until about 1,500 years after his death.
You're right, East Coast Liberal, that the context of those votes is important.
However, I think the main point by bringing attention to the "present" vote is that when one votes that way a lot, then one seems to have trouble coming down firmly on either side of an issue--and that's what leadership requires--coming down firmly somewhere and pressing forward with it.
As for Jesus, if his claims are true (and I believe they are), then, being God, he knew event hen what American government would look like today.
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