
John McCain: Suddenly just an old, bitter man?
It seems clear now that no one lost more in the 2008 campaign than John McCain. He lost not only the election; he also lost the distinctive qualities — including his sense of humor — that made him, well, made him John McCain.
Here lies John McCain's integrity
The death was not unexpected. Mr. McCain's integrity had been in ill health for a long time. Once, it had been his most attractive political trait, drawing smitten prose from political reporters and intrigued attention from voters sick of the same old, same old from politicians who would bend like Gumby for the electorate's approval.
Arizona is in desperate need of a U.S. Senator who is a consistent conservative. One whose vote doesn’t depend on national media appearances. John McCain’s voting record. BE
The absentee rate is in red. The two thin black lines provide a context for understanding the significance of the absentee rate. The lower dotted line shows the median value for all Members of Congress in that time period. The upper dotted line shows the 90th percentile. A Member who approaches the upper dotted line is in the worst 10 percent of Congress.
Time Period Number of Votes Missed Votes Missed Percent
2005-Q1 81 2 2.5%
2005-Q2 89 5 5.6%
2005-Q3 76 2 2.6%
2005-Q4 120 23 19.2%
2006-Q1 83 5 6%
2006-Q2 107 10 9.3%
2006-Q3 73 3 4.1%
2006-Q4 16 8 50%
2007-Q1 126 42 33.3%
2007-Q2 112 81 72.3%
2007-Q3 119 59 49.6%
2007-Q4 85 65 76.5%
2008-Q1 85 50 58.8%
2008-Q2 77 76 98.7%
2008-Q3 47 47 100%
2008-Q4 6 0 0%
2009-Q1 118 0 0%
2009-Q2 96 7 7.3%
2009-Q3 89 1 1.1%
2009-Q4 94 1 1.1%
2010-Q1 60 2 3.3%

