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Public Affairs coverage from our award-winning staff |
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Obama's Missed Vote Count Keeps Climbing
Produced by Sam Hudzik on Thursday, December 20, 2007
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The Iowa Presidential Caucuses are just two weeks away. Intense campaigning has forced Illinois U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama away from Washington. As a result, he's missed more than 160 votes on the Senate floor.
Obama's missed more than a third of the Senate's votes this year, about the same tally as two other senators running for president: Joe Biden and Chris Dodd. Hillary Clinton has missed significantly fewer votes than Obama, while Republican John McCain has missed far more.
Obama's missed votes don't concern Illinois' other senator, Democratic Whip Dick Durbin.
DURBIN: Senator Obama has not missed a critical vote. It's been my job to make sure that he and all the other senators are forewarned that they're needed. And I think that that's the important part to remember.
That view - reiterated in a statement from Obama's office - doesn't satisfy the National Taxpayers Union. The group wants candidates to pay back a slice of their salaries when they miss votes while campaigning.
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