Profiles in Wimpiness

Remember that economic stimulus package that President Bush and so many others have been saying is critical to help avoid a recession and bring relief to consumers?
The Republicans filibustered the bill today and the vote for cloture to end debate failed in the Senate by a 58-41 vote, two short of the 60 needed to bring it to a vote. But in reality the measure failed by one vote (Harry Reid cast a no vote in a technical move to enable him to bring the bill forward at a later date). And why did it fail by one vote? Who was the lone Senator to miss this important vote? John McCain. He was in D.C. but chose to hide so he would not have to vote on a bill that he said he supported, but which was opposed by many Bush conservatives. Think Progress has more:

"John McCain (R-AZ) has been repeatedly claiming on the stump that passing an economic stimulus package is at the very top of his agenda. He has told audiences that the “first thing we gotta do is pass the stimulus package through the Senate.” During a Jan. 24 GOP debate, he explicitly pledged to vote on such legislation when it reached the Senate. As recently as this morning, McCain again told reporters that he planned on returning to the Senate for this evening’s vote on the economic stimulus, stating that Congress needed to quickly pass legislation. The measure, blocked by conservatives, fell just one vote short of the 60 needed to end debate. At the “last minute,” McCain decided to skip the vote, even though his plane landed in DC in time. McCain claimed that he was "too busy":
“I haven’t had a chance to talk about it at all, have not had the opportunity to, even,” McCain said. “We’ve just been too busy, focused on other stuff. I don’t know if I’m doing that. We’ve got a couple of meetings scheduled.”
Both Sens. Barack Obama (D-IL) and Hillary Clinton (D-NY) were able to return to the Senate and vote on the bill.
The stimulus package, which included “$600-$1,200 rebate checks for more than 100 million Americans,” would also have provided “$44 billion in help for the elderly, disabled veterans, the unemployed and businesses.” The bill was opposed by hardline conservatives whom McCain is hoping to woo. By not voting for bill, as he had promised, McCain caved to the right wing and turned his back on 20 million
seniors and 250,000 disabled vets. As the AP notes:
Voting “no” with Republican leaders would have offended millions of Social Security recipients and the disabled veterans not scheduled to receive rebates. Voting “yes,” on the other hand, risked alienating Bush, GOP leaders and conservatives already suspicious of McCain’s political leanings. Today proved to be quite a detour for the straight talk express."

Remember this ...
McCain = Bush