“Then he ran for — then he ran for the state legislature and he got elected. And nearly 130 times, he couldn't make a decision. He couldn't figure out whether to vote 'yes' or 'no.' It was too tough.
He voted — he voted 'present.'
I didn't know about this vote 'present' when I was mayor of New York City. Sarah Palin didn't have this vote 'present' when she was mayor or governor. You don't get 'present.' It doesn't work in an executive job. For president of the United States, it's not good enough to be present.
You have to make a decision."—Rudy Giuliani 9/3/08
This is noteworthy as one of the few times in the evening when Rudy was merely being misleading, rather than engaged in outright falsehoods. Votes of "present" (which in Illinois have the same impact as voting no, but are usually used to send a more nuanced message as to why), have a long and honorable history in the Illinois legislature. When Hillary tried to use this against Obama in the prmaries, she got an angry repimand from her husband's former Counsel, Abner Mikva, who'd also served in the Illinois Legislature.
But, I gotta hand it to Rudy; he does make an interesting point.
In contrast to Obama, John McCain is “the decider” (where have we heard that before?).
On issue after issue, whether it’s offshore drilling, torture, abortion, taxes, or Social Security privatization, John McCain has made the tough decision, not just once, but twice, and sometimes three times. No matter where you stand, at one time or another, and sometimes back again, John McCain has held a position you can embrace.
As Groucho once said, “these are my principles; if you don’t like them, I have others.”