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Last week at the Republican National Convention, Republican leaders mentioned a few times that Senator Barack Obama had voted "present" on several occasions. The inference of the statement by the Republican leadership was that Senator Obama had voted "present" in order to avoid taking a stand on an issue.
Did Senator Obama actually vote "present" on several occasions? Absolutely.
Let's just take a moment to learn what voting present really means. The "present" vote is in effect a "no" vote, but it is a "no" vote that sends a message. The "present" vote is used by lawmakers in situations where they agree with a bill in
spirit, however the current version of the bill is not good enough to vote "yes;" either it is too expensive, it is inadequately planned or funded, or it has riders or earmarks attached that are entirely inappropriate.
A "present" vote is taking a stand. In fact the "present" vote says more than if the Senator had just voted "no."
Did the leaders of the Republican Party understand this? Of course they did. They are lawmakers, this is what they do and part of their every day job. What the Republican leadership was counting on, was that you would not understand the meaning of the "present" vote.
Now you do.
