It’s hard to take Sen. Obama seriously when his voting record makes it clear - he hardly seems to show up for work on the difficult days. Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign rhetoric offers the Democrat Party the prospect of “Hope and Change, and a Better Tomorrow.” (or whatever bumper-sticker he’s posting today… Change I can believe in… Change for you… hey buddy, can you spear some change?) Much has been made of John McCain’s voting record. As a Republican, I can say honestly I’m none too happy with many of Mr. McCain’s votes - and it gives me pause to wonder what he might favor as legislation if elected President. But for all my doubts, at least Sen. McCain has a stand on most national issues - good or bad. As for Mr. Obama - just what has he changed? He’s been in office now almost two full sessions of Congress, and the man was AWOL for almost all of the important votes, except the “hard ones” where the political fault lines were clearly delineated. When it came time to make “the tough calls” - Obama didn’t even vote PRESENT for many of them.

But perhaps I judge Sen. Obama too harshly. So I put in “Duties of a Senator” into Google and what should pop out - but a FAQ page by veteran Senator, and total left-winger, Sen. Carl Levin. Levin (D-MI) has been in Congress almost 30 years. He is rapidly becoming one of those Congressman who can take his place with the likes of Thurmond, Dole, Kennedy, and Byrd, in terms of longevity. One of the questions asked of Sen. Levin by a budding elementary school aged kid was, “Hey, what exactly do you do?” In response, Sen. Levin wrote this:

…As a senator I spend my time in various activities: I attend meetings with constituents and various groups, participate in proceedings on the Senate floor and attend committee hearings on issues important to the nation and Michigan. Additionally, my time is spent studying legislation that I am considering for introduction or which other senators have introduced, and reviewing problems confronting Michigan to determine whether federal legislation would be appropriate. I also read and answer mail, and read memos and reports on current issues and legislation.

Now having worked in a Congressional office, and having done quite a bit of Legislative Affairs in the Executive Branch, that seems about right to me. Senators meet with their Constituents, they attempt to forward legislation favorable to their state, participate in the business of the Congress, and conduct what is usually called “constituent relations” - helping people get better access to federal services, helping people navigate difficult federal issues (like tax issues), and dealing with applications to the US service academies.

I’ve always been very critical of situations where a Senator becomes “lame duck” or shunned because of stupidity or criminal actions and refuses to resign (like Sen. Larry Craig). By becoming a non-functional senator, you deny your state with critical representation on votes, access to services, and provide the service and advice that they put you into office to carry out. I’ve also been dubious of allowing members of Congress to run for President, because they indeed tend to short-shrift their constituency. Proof of this being that while McCain has been running for the last year or so - he’s missed about 50% of the votes (but none of the “difficult ones” I’d argue). In short, being a Congressman is a full time job.

So, that said - where again is Barrack Obama? I mean - wouldn’t the best way to show you’re qualified to lead change be to show you actually achieved something as a Senator? Right now, Obama is running in VA these ads that essentially say, “Hi, despite what’ve you heard about me, I’m a God Fearing, Flag Waving, non-threatening, candidate for President, raised on family values - vote for me, and I’ll see this is what is my Adminstration for America.”

Well Sen. Obama - you’d hardly know it from the voting record. Senator Obama has missed close to 44% of all the votes for the 110th Congress, and almost 50% overall. Here’s a sampling of some of the things Sen. Obama didn’t vote on (all of this can be gleaned from the Washington Post and Thomas vote records):

• With the exception of Supreme Court Justices - Mr. Obama routinely is AWOL on votes on any federal Court judge appointments. He refused to participate in the “Gang of 14″ Senators trying to break the log-jam on judicial nominations, and passed on voting on six of the seven nominations that came to floor votes in the 110th Congress. For a guy who complains about the federal judiciary and out of control conservative judges, apparently he can’t figure out how to put his card in the slot in the Senate on those days they come up for nomination, even to vote NO.
• On the FISA bill - Senator Obama couldn’t be found, even to vote against the measure - which is what I presume he would want to do since he routinely criticizes the President for “spying without warrants.”
• Foreclosure Prevention Act - Sorry, too busy raising money on the campaign trail to worry about homeowners.
• Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 - I’m sorry - too busy again to care about trying to reduce the price of food and fuel for Americans.
• Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008 (The Global Warming Bill) - Sorry, was too busy kicking Hillary around the campaign trail to vote to protect America from the vicious effects of Green House gases.
• National Defense Authorization Act of 2008 - Sorry - too busy againt to care if we have enough money for troops.
• 2007 Farm Bill - I’m sorry, go back to your guns and your Bibles you crazy rural people, I’m busy (didn’t vote on it either)
• FHA Modernization Act of 2007 - busy, call back later.
• Confirmation Michael B. Mukasey of New York, to be Attorney General - um, take a message…
• Support for Injured Service members Act - um busy, I’ll deal with it when I withdraw you all from Iraq and Afghanistan (I guess… hard to know)
• Ensign Amdt. No. 3352 to HR 3043 (Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008); To prohibit the use of funds to process claims based on illegal work for purposes of receiving Social Security benefits - I’m sorry, the number you’ve dialed is no longer in service…

The list goes on, and on, and on. Now, I’m sure Mr. Obama has very good reasons for missing these votes (and the others I didn’t even mention). I’m sure on many of these, the margins were such that his vote wouldn’t have mattered in the outcome - perhaps he even agreed with the final outcome under those conditions - so he didn’t vote. Many of the votes are technical, procedural, and not substantive. I understand all of that…

But don’t lecture me then on how you’ve worked for change in America when for the last three years as Senator - nearly 50% of the time you couldn’t even show up to work.

Perhaps the Hope is that we Hope something get’s done.. for a Change.