'08 Watch: Obama Stays Perfect, For Now...

[carpe diem]

(excerpt)
Three of the 10 senators who have missed the most votes so far in the 110th Congress are declared presidential candidates. A fourth, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), is considering running and has in the process missed more votes (9) than Dodd and other officially declared candidates.

Of the half dozen declared presidential candidates in the Senate, Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is the only one with perfect attendance so far. But that's not likely to last much longer, if Saturday is any example of the scheduling hazards that a campaign imposes on one's senatorial duties. Starting at a campaign event in South Carolina, Obama jetted up to Washington for the vote on the Iraq resolution, which took place around 2 p.m. ET. By late afternoon, he was in Richmond collecting the endorsement of Gov. Timothy Kaine (D-Va.) and raising money for the state's Democratic Party, before heading out to California for a string of events Sunday and Monday.

After the Saturday vote, an already haggard Obama told Capitol Briefing he wasn't even sure how he was getting to Richmond. "Driving, I think," he said, then pausing. "Maybe flying -- my staff doesn't tell me."
............................

Brownback has been the most absent senator of those running for president, missing 22 votes this year. While his aides blamed the missed votes on an overseas trip to the Middle East, the Associated Press reported that only nine of those were called during the trip. The other 13 missed votes would still place Brownback at the top of the missed-vote list of 2008 contenders.

Here's the breakdown of the most missed votes among declared (or possible) candidates:


CANDIDATE TOTAL VOTES MISSED % MISSED
Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) 22 42.3
Joe Biden (D-Del.) 12 23.1
Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) 9 17.3
Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) 8 15.4
John McCain (R-Ariz.) 5 9.6
Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) 2 3.8
Barack Obama (D-Ill.) 0 0

[Colobo]

1. That's a responsible man right there

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

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[Forkboy]

2. Kudos to both Hillary and Barack