Giuliani's on fire at the RNC. He's knocking (mocking) Obama's record of voting "present" in the Illinois State Legislature, capping the attack with a comment about the decisive nature of executive power. "When you're President of the United States, you can't just vote 'present,'" he observes. "You must make decisions."
It's a great line, one that has the virtue of being both powerful and true.
With one, you know, small exception: In the Senate, the body in which both Obama and his rival serve,
it's McCain who has the worst vote-attendance record: he's attended only 36.2 percent of votes, missing 407 since the start of the 110th Congress. In this, the Arizona senator holds the dubious distinction of besting Tim Johnson, the senator who was away from Washington for several months following a brain hemorrhage, and who clocks in at 51.3 percent attended.
Obama, though it's still nothing for him to brag about, has a significantly better attendance record than McCain, with a 54.5 percent attendance record (290 votes missed).
So why would Giuliani bring Obama's attendance record up in the first place, given the stones-to-glass-houses ratio of the attack? After all, McCain's poor ranking--though low vote attendance, it should be noted, is common for senators who are also running for president--is well known fact (and, barring that, easily looked up). And though voting "present" and simply not showing up aren't precisely the same, they're certainly similar in spirit.
My guess is Giuliani's assuming the members of the "liberal"/"elite"/"Ivy League"/"East Coast"/biased/mean/smelly media will be so focused on Palin's speech that his voting record comment gets buried in the torrent of what-was-she-wearing and did-she-win-people-over and did-the-hockey-mom-thing-work, etc. And it's a safe gamble, given the spirit of the evening.
But here's hoping it doesn't pay off. Because for all that we complain--rightly so--about the media preferring their own voices to those of the newsmakers they're meant to cover when it comes to convention speeches, there's one instance when their moderation is inarguably useful to voters. And that is when it can keep politicians' claims in check and, in the process, set the record straight.
The two points in this speech that stunned me the most were: when Giuliani delivered the "Obama's story could only happen in America" line, which sounded as if it was supposed to be laudatory on paper, but morphed into utter derision as Giuliani read it off the teleprompter.
The second was the outright scoffing at "community organizing". Is that really the message the GOP wants to send? After all, who's going to do all the unpaid, local gruntwork when John McCain further slashes social programs and abandons low-income urban citizens, if not community organizers? Who's going to work to establish shelters for single mothers, like the one Sarah Palin vetoed earlier this year, if not community organizers?
Both of these statements signaled a bizarre indifference to how non-white, non-small towners make it in the world.
Yo man, that speech was off the hook, obama and them is all trippin', get real, his middle name is hussein, i mean, come on, do we really want a president with islamic backgrounds, that would be the downfall of USA, vote for the white boy, holla
"So why would Giuliani bring Obama’s attendance record up in the first place, given the stones-to-glass-houses ratio of the attack?" Well, because he can get away with it, of course. There is not a sentence that comes out of the mouth of the McCain campaign that is not projection writ large and does not turn reality on its head. But they know that the mainstream media and the propaganda catapulters will carry the Republican message forth, unexamined.
Meggan dear, please note that “Illinois State Legislature” does not equal “United States Senate”. You must be a political novice, so I will make this simple: Obama served in both the “Illinois State Legislature” as a senator and the “US congress”. Note that these two bodies are separate and unique and different, with Obama not serving on both at the same time. The portion that you quoted from Giuliani was speaking about the former and you were speaking about the latter. This is referred to as comparing apples to oranges.
Another note you might want to add is that “voting present” has nothing to do with “attendance”.
I guess we will file this in the “made it up” archives.
The second was the outright scoffing at "community organizing". Is that really the message the GOP wants to send?
Evan, I will repeat this again “community organizing” is not a qualification to be president, no matter how prominently Obama puts it on his resume.
I will repeat myself again: I, nor Obama, has made the claim that community organizing qualifies him to be president. It's at the beginning of his resume because its the first example of his involvement in public service.
Community organizing is entirely in the spirit of American volunteerism. It has laid the framework for countless reform movements in this country, and fills the void left behind by budget cuts in every American urban center. It's the sole path to public citizenry for most people lacking resources or generational wealth. In many places where government bureaucracy or funding cuts have crippled public services, it is the sole support network for impoverished communities. To hear Giuliani and Palin mock this concept to rousing applause from the nearly all-white crowd was stomach churning.
TDC, holla atcha, Mr. Fancypants evan don't know what he's sayin, communtiy organizer, OBAMA is trippin' hes a bad dude, Im Black and i'm votin Republican, this is too all them brothas out there, dont be fooled by OBAMA hes not gonna help you, he jus wants your tax money...holla if yuz gots to ax me any qwestins
I too felt that the scorn directed at Obama's years of community organizing was distasteful. In no way does it "qualify" him to be President, but in no way is it something to be ridiculed. How is helping people find jobs, prep for college, and organize to work with local politicians to better their neighborhoods a bad thing? And the experience of dealing directly with everyday citizens and helping them to meet their goals is something that all politicians should do and be proud of. Maybe if more of them on both sides did such things, they'd see the country and its issues a bit differently than they do from their offices in Washington.
I think it's possible to disagree with someone and criticize their ideas and politics with resorting to scorn.
And considering how absolutely poorly Giuliani ran his own campaign, I don't think he has any room to talk.
Being present and not voting can also be an act of protest, and Obama was undoubtedly acting on that strategy much of the time. It's commonly done, and not just by Obama. In any case, he's making a decision not to vote for a reason. Not even showing up, like McCain - the only decision being made there is that he had something better to do that day.
Who knows why Giuliani brought it up at all. The GOP is really grasping at straws now. They criticize whatever they can think of and just plain make stuff up, because they've got nothing to sell. I'd like to hear what they intend to do to fix their 8 years of destruction, but I haven't heard anything convincing or new.
Under Illinois law, a vote of "present" is a no vote, but signals a willingness to compromise and change after negotiation. See Abner Mikva's recent Op/Ed posting in the New York Times of February 16, 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/opinion/16mikva.html?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print
Doug E Fresh & T.I., perhaps you two should go to an English school befoore espousing your lack of knowledge on this board!
Guiliani's speech was terrible to say the least. The GOP should keep him off the stage if they hope to stand a chance in this election.
As far as "action" goes, Obama's voting record has no real meaning for this election. if one takes a look a t McCain's record of voting and political stances, one finds a recent about face in his political convictions in hopes of woeing intolerant Christians across America.
it was also quite apparent from Palin's speach that she is more of a right wing fanatic than mcCain and truely a scary proposition for leading the country should McCain keel over.
Man, yizall must be sippin' that haterade cuz Mr. Keith Williams, who i suppose is a politically correct, stuck up snob, who cares more about the environment that matters of national security like drilling for oil and our troops, doesn't know wats he talkin' bout. He's got the balls to tell me, (T.IP., T.I., the King, Rubberband Man, Best Rapper Alive) that i should go to english class, hes the one thats trippin'. My albums droppin' in a few and i bettin i gots mo dollaz than your broke ass. So youd best be doin your research before you step all over my man. Your just afraid of real change, you want a politically correct loser in the office whos got no experience but a dopey ass commity organizer, and you say that PALIn dont gots no experinece, youd best be trifelin cuz your boy aint hat great. How bout you pay some respect to USA and move on out to saudi Arabia where Barrack Hussein OSAMA, oops i mean Obama, is from. Peace out, atown down...be sure to catch that Paper Trail droppin soon
It's sad that you have to hide behind someone else's identity. Even the true T.I. speaks with better taste than you. And I'm sure he wouldn't want his name used for such political trash that you have been exposing it to. If you can't be "true to the game", please stay away. Even if you are a Republican you could still see that Giuliani crossed the line with his "almost there but not quite" racist remarks. He's a clown!!!!