Profiles in Courage

This is from the St Pete Times, no conservative rag.

The Republican National Committee is correct that Sen. Barack Obama of Illinios, a top contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, skipped a vote Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007, on a resolution meant to condemn the anti-war group MoveOn.org for an advertisement bashing Army Gen. David Petraues, the top U.S. military commander in Iraq.

The RNC release also correctly notes that Obama canceled a town hall meeting in Rock Hill, S.C., to stay in Washington for "important votes on the future of America's presence in Iraq."

It's not uncommon for members of Congress to miss votes because meetings can overlap with floor votes. But in this case, floor action on Iraq dominated the schedule, and Obama participated in the two Senate votes before and after the vote on the MoveOn resolution:

At 11:58 a.m., the Senate voted on an alternative resolution calling for support for the U.S. military. Obama voted yea. It passed.

At 12:35 p.m., the Senate voted on the MoveOn resolution. Obama did not vote. It passed.

At 2:54 p.m., the Senate voted on an amendment to a defense bill that sought to end most funding for the war in Iraq by June. Obama voted yea. It failed.

In a statement, Obama said he didn't vote on the resolution because it was a "stunt."

A real profile in courage. At least his colleagues admitted to being members of Moveon.org prison harem.