Side notes for the Iran vote passed today

Alright, those of you who cannot spare the time to review the amendment that was signed today 76-22, the Senate passed the Lieberman-Kyl amendment, which threatens to “combat, contain and [stop]” Iran via “military instruments.” Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) called the amendment “Cheney’s fondest pipe dream” and said it could “read as a backdoor method of gaining Congressional validation for military action.”

And here's how the Senators voted. Clinton voted for it. Obama and McCain skipped the vote.

It is the sense of the Senate--
(1) that the manner in which the United States transitions and structures its military presence in Iraq will have critical long-term consequences for the future of the Persian Gulf and the Middle East, in particular with regard to the capability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to pose a threat to the security of the region, the prospects for democracy for the people of the region, and the health of the global economy;

(2) that it is a critical national interest of the United States to prevent the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran from turning Shi'a militia extremists in Iraq into a Hezbollah-like force that could serve its interests inside Iraq, including by overwhelming, subverting, or co-opting institutions of the legitimate Government of Iraq;

(3), (4) [removed]

(5) that the United States should designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists, as established under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and initiated under Executive Order 13224; and

(6) that the Department of the Treasury should act with all possible expediency to complete the listing of those entities targeted under United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1737 and 1747 adopted unanimously on December 23, 2006 and March 24, 2007, respectively.

Translation, to cut through the bullshit:
(1) An observation that America's presence in Iraq will have consequences.
(2) Keep Iran from interfering in Iraq's politics.
(5) Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps = Terrorists.
(6) Department of the Treasury should work faster to comply with UN resolutions.



So in conclusion, Obama is skipping lots of votes now a days. I don't support the way Clinton voted on this, but at least she voted. Obama seems to be playing really cynical political games now. He wants to be able to come down on either side of the issue come six months or a year from now. Then he'll just say "I missed the vote but I would have voted the way that all Americans now agree upon, whatever way Americans would be thinking." Obama and McCain were both absent from the vote because their opponents in the presidential race would point to it, and call them "weak on terror".