Obama pushed wrong button on six votes -- Update

Sen. Obama has already been criticized for casting a "present" vote on over a hundred bills. I don't think I've ever cast a present vote -- practically, it counts as a no since it doesn't help the sponsor get the required number of votes for passage. If you think a bill is unconstitutional, I think you have to vote against it if you want to be true to the oath you took to uphold the Constitution.

Here's a good read from today's Los Angeles Times about Obama's assertion that he simply pushed the wrong button in a half-dozen votes in the Illinois Senate, two of them on hotly contested bills. I don't know how they do it in Springfield, but in Little Rock, there's adequate time to correct a mistake by changing a vote before the clerk casts up the ballot. Plus, like Illinois, we have a procedure to place an entry with the clerk (but not in the House Journal -- Rule 6) to explain a flub like this, even though you can't change your vote. True errors or attempts to appease both sides of a difficult issue?

Update (Friday): Illinois lawmakers are coming to Obama's defense regarding the present votes, some explaining that such a vote is just "good politics." I can agree with that and know others in Arkansas who feel the same way. Interesting to read that only a handful of states allow legislators to vote "present." In Hawaii, you can vote "kanalua" (doubt).