ilovemylife: JOHN McCAIN'S GAME OF POLITICS - LET'S SUSPEND JOHN McCAIN'S CHARADE OF PUTTING COUNTRY FIRST

Let's postpone the debates until the Iraq war is over, the Darfur genocide is stopped, all homeless children have a home, education is a priority for ALL of USA children AND the decision how to spend $700 Billion to $1 Trillion of money we don't have is responsibly spent.

My first paragraph is written tongue-in-cheek.

There is no way the decision by John McCain to say he wants Senator Obama to join him and cancel the debate for Friday, September 26, 2008 isn't political. Barack Obama after all called John McCain this morning at 8:30 a.m. to suggest the two of them come out jointly on the bailout proposal with a statement.

And yet this afternoon, John McCain's spokespeople said that Barack needs to respond to John McCain reaching out to Barack. John has it backwards again. He is just hoping that enough people don't catch him in his distortion. Deceptive politic gaming.

Barack Obama said that he and John talked this afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and said that John mentioned postponing the debate. Barack said it came across like John was mulling the idea over. Then following that, John McCain goes on television and says that he is asking Barack Obama to join him in the ecomony debate in Washington and that he wants to postpone the debate. To show that John McCain was working across the aisle as he likes to claim, John McCain wouldn't have talked to Barack via public televsion and requested publicly to call off the debate. He would have called Barack and done it in an appropriate manner. Not a way to build bridges. But definitely a way to play politics. Let's see if USA voters choose to see through this charade.

CHECK OUT SENATORS McCAIN AND OBAMA'S SENATE HOME PAGE AND COMPARE OPENNESS AND ACCESSIBILITY

As someone who has met with my two United States Senators and my one United States Representative more than once, I know their home pages. And ease of access and finding contact information has shown wide differences, although I did point out to one who was nearly impossible to find contact information. And that now I just checked has now improved on this.

But only U.S. RI Senator Jack Reed has a home page voting record link at this time. And that too is an improvement from the past.

One thing I noticed when I visited Barack Obama's Senate homepage over a year ago was how user-friendly it is....easy to find the information anyone would want from someone who was being open and transparent. The contact information is immediately visible and Senator Obama's voting record has always been easily found with the links at the top on the left of his very own home page. Check it out:

http://obama.senate.gov/

And then check out John McCain's

http://mccain.senate.gov/public/

Here are my State's politicians' website homepage links:
http://whitehouse.senate.gov/
http://reed.senate.gov/
http://www.patrickkennedy.house.gov/

HOW MANY VOTES HAVE THE CANDIDATES MISSED WHILE CAMPAIGNING FOR PRESIDENT?

A LOT. Here is a website to tell you about missed votes:
http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/110/senate/vote-missers/

Here is the beginning of the list

Missed Votes By Member in the order of most missed votes:

64.1%

Sen. John McCain (R-AZ)

Representing: Arizona
Votes: 412 votes missed (64.1%), 231 votes cast

48.4%

Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)

Representing: South Dakota
Votes: 311 votes missed (48.4%), 332 votes cast
Note: Sen. Johnson suffered a brain hemorrhage on Dec. 13, 2006, and spent several months recovering. He has since returned to the Senate.

45.9%

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL)

Representing: Illinois
Votes: 295 votes missed (45.9%), 348 votes cast

32.2%

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY)

Representing: New York
Votes: 207 votes missed (32.2%), 436 votes cast

30.8%

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE)

Representing: Delaware
Votes: 198 votes missed (30.8%), 445 votes cast

26.6%

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT)

Representing: Connecticut
Votes: 171 votes missed (26.6%), 472 votes cast

22.1%

Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)

Representing: Kansas
Votes: 142 votes missed (22.1%), 501 votes cast

John McCain's voting record can be found at the website below.
NV means he didn't vote.
http://www.votesmart.org/voting_category.php?can_id=53270

The voting record is listed in categories. Here is the category of

Budget, Spending and Taxes for John McCain:

Date	Bill Title	Vote	Outcome
09/17/2008	Defense Authorizations Bill S 3001	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (88 - 8)
07/31/2008	Higher Education Act Amendments and Extensions HR 4137	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (83 - 8)
07/31/2008	Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill HR 4040	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (89 - 3)
07/26/2008	Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Funding S 3186	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (50 - 35)
07/26/2008	Housing Bill with Energy Tax Credit Extensions HR 3221	NV	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (72 - 13)
07/16/2008	Funding Amendment to AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Bill S Amdt 5077	NV	Amendment Rejected - Senate (31 - 64)
07/16/2008	Funding to Combat AIDS, Malaria, and Tuberculosis HR 5501	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (80 - 16)
07/15/2008	Medicare Bill HR 6331	NV	Veto Override Passed - Senate (70 - 26)
07/09/2008	Medicare Bill HR 6331	NV	Cloture Invoked - Senate (69 - 30)
06/26/2008	Iraq and Afghanistan War Funding, Unemployment Benefits Extension, and GI Bill HR 2642	NV	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (92 - 6)
06/25/2008	Housing Foreclosure Assistance Programs S Amdt 4983	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (79 - 16)
06/18/2008	Second Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) HR 6124	NV	Veto Override Passed - Senate (80 - 14)
06/17/2008	Alternative Energy Tax Incentives HR 6049	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (52 - 44)
06/10/2008	Increasing Taxes on Profits, Rescinding Certain Tax Deductions, and Increasing Tax Incentives for Alternative Energy Programs for Oil Companies S 3044	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (51 - 43)
05/22/2008	Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) HR 2419	NV	Veto Override Passed - Senate (82 - 13)
05/22/2008	Funding for Operations in Iraq and Afghanistan S Amdt 4818	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (70 - 26)
05/22/2008	GI Bill and Other Domestic Provisions S Amdt 4803	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (75 - 22)
05/15/2008	Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) HR 2419	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (81 - 15)
04/10/2008	Housing Bill with Energy Tax Credit Extensions HR 3221	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (84 - 12)
04/10/2008	Energy Tax Credits Amendment S Amdt 4419 to S Amdt 4387 to HR 3221	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (88 - 8)
03/14/2008	Concurrent Budget Resolution S Con Res 70	NV	Resolution Passed - Senate (51 - 44)
03/13/2008	Earmark Moratorium S Amdt 4347	Y	Motion Rejected - Senate (29 - 71)
03/13/2008	Restriction of Federal Assistance Based on Compliance with Federal Immigration Laws S Amdt 4309 to S Con Res 70	NV	Amendment Tabled - Senate (58 - 40)
03/06/2008	Consumer Product Safety Commission Bill HR 4040	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (79 - 13)
02/26/2008	Health Care for Indigenous Peoples S 1200	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (83 - 10)
02/26/2008	Prohibiting the Funds in S 1200 from Being Used for Abortions S Amdt 3896	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (52 - 42)
02/13/2008	Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 HR 2082	N	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 45)
02/07/2008	Economic Stimulus Plan HR 5140	Y	Bill Passed - Senate (81 - 16)
01/22/2008	Defense Authorizations Bill HR 4986	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (91 - 3)
12/18/2007	Inclusion of Consolidated Appropriations HR 2764	NV	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (76 - 17)
12/18/2007	Inclusion of Iraq and Afghanistan Military Operations Funding with the Consolidated Appropriations HR 2764	Y	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (70 - 25)
12/14/2007	Farm, Nutrition, and Bioenergy Act of 2007 (Farm Bill) HR 2419	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (79 - 14)
12/13/2007	Energy Act of 2007 HR 6	NV	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (86 - 8)
12/13/2007	Limit on Farm Subsidies S Amdt 3695	NV	Amendment Rejected - Senate (56 - 43)
12/13/2007	Income Limit for Subsidies to Farmers S Amdt 3810	NV	Amendment Rejected - Senate (48 - 47)
12/11/2007	Government Sponsored Farm Insurance Policies S Amdt 3711	NV	Amendment Rejected - Senate (37 - 58)
12/06/2007	Temporary Tax Adjustments Act of 2007 HR 3996	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (46 - 48)
12/06/2007	Temporary Alternative Minimum Tax Adjustment Act of 2007 HR 3996	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (88 - 5)
11/16/2007	Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense and Timeline for Withdrawal from Iraq HR 4156	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (53 - 45)
11/16/2007	Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for the Department of Defense S 2340	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (45 - 53)
11/08/2007	Water Resources Development Act of 2007 HR 1495	NV	Veto Override Passed - Senate (79 - 14)
11/07/2007	Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies HR 3043	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (56 - 37)
11/01/2007	Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007 (CHIP) HR 3963	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (64 - 30)
10/30/2007	Amtrak Reauthorization S 294	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (70 - 22)
10/25/2007	Amtrak Federal Subsidy Limits S Amdt 3453	NV	Amendment Rejected - Senate (28 - 66)
10/23/2007	Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies HR 3043	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (75 - 19)
10/18/2007	Prohibiting Funds for Groups that Perform Abortions S Amdt 3330	Y	Amendment Rejected - Senate (41 - 52)
10/16/2007	Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2008 HR 3093	N	Bill Passed - Senate (75 - 19)
10/03/2007	Border Fence and Customs Appropriations S Amdt 3117	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (95 - 1)
10/01/2007	National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 HR 1585	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (92 - 3)
09/27/2007	State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization HR 976	NV	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (67 - 29)
09/10/2007	Bridge Repair Funding S Amdt 2792	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (60 - 33)
09/07/2007	Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants HR 2669	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (79 - 12)
08/02/2007	State Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Reauthorization HR 976	N	Bill Passed - Senate (68 - 31)
07/26/2007	Implementing the 9/11 Commission Recommendations Act HR 1	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (85 - 8)
07/26/2007	Department of Homeland Security Appropriations HR 2638	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (89 - 4)
07/26/2007	Border Fence and Customs Appropriations S Amdt 2480	NV	Amendment Adopted - Senate (89 - 1)
07/26/2007	REAL ID Funding S Amdt 2405	NV	Amendment Tabled - Senate (50 - 44)
07/20/2007	Student Loan Lender Subsidy Cuts and Student Grants HR 2669	N	Bill Passed - Senate (78 - 18)
06/21/2007	Energy Act of 2007 HR 6	NV	Bill Passed - Senate (65 - 27)
06/21/2007	Alternative Energy Subsidies S Amdt 1704	NV	Cloture Not Invoked - Senate (57 - 36)
05/24/2007	Emergency Departmental Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007 HR 2206	Y	Concurrence Vote Passed - Senate (80 - 14)
05/17/2007	2008 Budget Resolution S Con Res 21	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (52 - 40)
04/26/2007	Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Bill of 2007 with Iraq Withdrawal Timeline HR 1591	NV	Conference Report Adopted - Senate (51 - 46)
03/23/2007	Congressional Budget for 2008 S Con Res 21	N	Passed - Senate (52 - 47)