Reply #3: the thing is ... the man wasn't in the United States Senate at the time.

[flordehinojos]

Would being there have changed his landscape. Would it have been more politically beneficial for him to vote Yes ... one never knows. He has said many times he would vote for Something or Against it and then his vote turns up all upsidedown or his vote is merely Present which, as Joementum one day said, there are only three buttons for senators or US representatives to cast their votes on.
One is green, meaning, Yes. The other is red, meaning, No. And there is a third button, that one is yellow and it means ABSTAIN. What in the blazes does a Present vote mean? Joementum asked. Is Obama a man of conviction, or is he a man of opportunities?