Obama is "Present"

On Monday's MLK debate in South Carolina (watchhere), Hillary Clinton and John Edwards bot dogpiled on Barack Obama's 130 votes of "present" while in Illinois. (I don't believe that Obama was expecting that one.) AP has an interesting article regarding the votes. Most interesting was this part:

Several involve abortion — a ban on certain late-pregnancy abortions, a requirement that a minor's parents be notified and restrictions on a type of abortion where the fetus sometimes survives for short periods.

"A woman's right to choose ... demands a leader who will stand up and protect it," said one Clinton campaign mailer.

But the Illinois Planned Parenthood Council says Obama's "present" votes were actually part of a careful strategy to prevent those restrictions from passing.

President Pam Sutherland said the group feared several senators were going to vote "yes" on the legislation because of attacks from Republicans over their past opposition. Sutherland says she approached Obama and convinced him to vote "present" so that the wavering senators would do the same. For their purposes, a "present" was as good as an outright "no" because it kept the bills from reaching the majority needed to pass.

Hey a lesson learned in Illinois state politics!