Presidential candidates serving in Congress have always taken a lot of flak for missing votes because of campaign events, and deservedly so. No one expects these candidates to run a successful campaign and attend every single vote, but at the same time, they were elected to do a certain job and deserve to be criticized if they're not doing it.
If your Average Joe skips work every other day to interview for a new job, he'd better be sure he gets it. Because if it doesn't pan out his old boss isn't going to be too happy about all the missed work.
That said, here's an attendance record for current presidential candidates who are also in the Senate (the percentage represents the number of votes missed):
- John McCain (R) - 53.1%
- Joseph Biden (D) - 35.4%
- Christopher Dodd (D) - 33.9%
- Barack Obama (D)- 33.7%
- Hillary Clinton (D) - 18.2%
And for the House:
- Tom Tancredo (R) - 28.8%
- Ron Paul (R) - 22.7%
- Dennis Kucinich (D) - 10.8%
Kudos to Kucinich. I thought Hillary's would be a little higher, and McCain's attendance record is just shocking.
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Comments (6)
Excuse me ! but!, how about showing Andrews on the ticket Humbug !
Posted by jojo {:-( | November 13, 2007 11:20 AM
Wow, I knew McCain was bad, but yikes.
Posted by SpectroFark | November 13, 2007 11:51 AM
This is why they should not be allowed to run for two offices simultaneously. If they could not hold on to their Congress position, how many would run for President? You can NOT do two jobs at once. It is necessary for people to travel to promote their campaign, to the detriment of their elected office.
Posted by Mom | November 13, 2007 2:14 PM
However many years somebody spends in office, they should have to stay off the government payroll and off government contractor payrolls for that many years before they can have any other government job.
For example, if you're in for 6 years as a senator, then you must go get a real job for the next 6 years before you can head back to the feed-trough.
Posted by Ugly American | November 13, 2007 4:15 PM
I am rather upset about Mr. McCain's voting record, so I will ask him about it tomorrow in Exeter. Nevertheless, I still think he is our best choice for President.
Posted by Justin | January 6, 2008 4:34 PM
Justin, did you manage to ask McCain about his voting record? This is one of my real pet peeves right now. Do not think that they should be able to accept a salary for work that they are not performing. Would your employer allow you to do this? Also, there is no BEST choice for president---they are all politicians at this point...and politicians are what is wrong with this country right now. Jefferson said that a patriot should support his country all the time and should support his government when it deserves it. The only thing government(both Rep. & Dem.) has deserved for a long time is a big thumbs down(or any other hand gesture that you might feel is appropriate).
7 has deserved for a long
Posted by terry | February 1, 2008 11:48 PM