The Daily Background

What do you call somebody who isn’t doing their own job because they’re too busy trying to get another one?

John McCain, apparently.

The Republican Senator has not represented the people of Arizona for five weeks now. McCain has missed dozens upon dozens of votes, including key votes on Iraq, to which his political future is tied to perhaps the closest of any 2008 presidential candidate. Reports the Washington Post:

McCain’s missed vote today marked his fifth straight week without casting a vote on the Senate floor, with this morning’s vote marking the 42nd straight roll call that he has missed.

Since the first-quarter fundraising period for presidential candidates ended March 31, McCain has made just three floor votes. He hasn’t cast a single vote since the full details of his wildly disappointing presidential campaign’s fundraising report were revealed in mid-April.

If McCain misses the next three votes — the $2.9 trillion fiscal 2008 budget is likely to be voted on this afternoon — he will officially have been absent for 50 percent of the more than 170 roll calls held in the chamber so far in the 110th Congress.

The Post also notes: “for anyone wondering about Democratic frontrunners Hillary Rodham Clinton (N.Y.) and Barack Obama (Ill.), they have missed just 1.8 percent and 6.4 percent of votes this year, respectively.”

Filed under: Z-TDB Blog