From last night's debate:

SEN. OBAMA: Well, first of all, I became chairman of this committee at the beginning of this campaign, at the beginning of 2007. So it is true that we haven't had oversight hearings on Afghanistan. I have been very clear in talking to the American people about what I would do with respect to Afghanistan.

Yes, he has been very clear in TALKING with the American people. What he hasn't been so clear about is what he has done as a United States Senator that is a Chair of the Subcommittee that has actual oversight over the process. Lots of very clear talking. Action, not so much.

Illinois' disabled veterans are at "rock bottom" -- "dead last" -- in benefits and claims processing of applications for disability. But Illinois' veterans take a back seat because their junior senator is running for president. And that senator, Barack Obama, has missed an astonishing number of hearings and meetings of the Senate Veterans committee.

But Obama has skipped 19 of 37 VA committee meetings in the 109th congress. Obama's attendance record was the second worst of all Democrats on the committee. He attended just 18 of the committee's 37 meetings in Washington D.C.

But he really cares and has given lots of speeches to prove it. But that showing up for work thing, the thing he was hired to do (and is paid by the taxpayers to do) he isn't so good at.

On the campaign trail, Obama stresses the importance of providing "the best care" for veterans and their families: "Providing the best care for our service members, veterans and their families is one thing about this war we can still get right."

   * But Sen. Obama has continually skipped hearings on the veterans budget. Chairman Craig opened a hearing Obama missed and said, "we will consider today ... legislation touching on veterans insurance, housing, burial, compensation, and employee benefits." Obama also missed all four committee hearings in a series that focused on the President's proposed 2007 budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs. Ranking Senator Akaka noted during the hearings that "we must learn a lesson from last year's budget crisis and do everything we can to ensure that veterans and their family members have access to health care and benefits they have earned." (From the GPO on 6/23/05, 2/28/06, 3/2/06, 3/7/06, March 9, 2006.)

Gosh, it seems that Senator Obama had a problem showing up for work in 2006 when he wasn't running for president too. What's up with that?

Obama stresses the importance of veterans health care: "Long as there are wounded service members receiving substandard medical care, we have failed in our duty to honor the commitment of the brave men and women who chose to serve. We must provide our returning heroes and their families with every resource they need to rebuild their lives," Obama said in a press release on April 10, 2007.

   * But Obama skipped a hearing about expanding veterans' health services. Craig opened, "We also have legislation before us to specifically address the demand for long-term care. As the veteran population ages, the demand for long-term care has increased accordingly." Akaka added that the committee would consider legislation that would encourage "creative ways to help alleviate the burden on caregivers while expanding services to veterans." (From the GPO, May 11, 2006.)

* Obama also skipped a hearing to create insurance benefits for veterans in rehabilitation. Craig announced that the committee would "hear testimony about the traumatically injured protection under service members' group life insurance benefit." Akaka declared that "this insurance program helps ease the financial burden" on a hospitalized service member's family. (From the GPO on September 7, 2006.)

Now if you haven't lost your eyesight or maybe just need to clean your glasses take a look at the dates above. Seems Mr. Obama just has a problem with showing up for work. He enjoys the money I'm sure. And the exposure he gets while being able to tell people he is a United States Senator must be very rewarding to his ego. But actually doing work? Real Harvard men don't work. Don't believe me? Read on:

   *  But Obama skipped the hearing on improving veterans' health care access. "In many cases, VA's facilities are located where veterans used to live, not where they now live," noted Chairman Craig. The legislation under consideration was "designed in part to address the changes in the demographics of our veterans' population and follows America's medicine's transformation from hospital-centric to patient-centric delivery of care." (From the GPO on April 6, 2006.)

* Sen. Obama also missed an "exceedingly important" nomination hearing for the VA's Undersecretary for Health. "Dr. Perlin [has been nominated] to serve as VA's Under Secretary for Health," announced Chairman Craig. "This is an exceedingly important position. The Under Secretary, in effect, serves as CEO of the VA's entire health care system, the largest integrated health care system in the United States. Dr. Perlin, this is a big, big, big job." (From the GPO on April 7, 2005.)

Or how about this:

   *  Sen. Obama missed the vote to eliminate requirement that severance pay be deducted from disability compensation: Obama did not vote for the Levin, D-Mich., amendment No. 2019 to the Levin substitute amendment No. 2011.

     (The Levin amendment would establish a Defense Department and Veterans Affairs Interagency Program Office to implement a joint electronic health record system and eliminate the current requirement that severance pay be deducted from disability compensation for disabilities incurred in a combat zone. It would authorize $50 million for the treatment and rehabilitation of service members with traumatic brain injury or post-traumatic stress disorder and create common disability ratings to determine those eligible for care. The substitute would authorize $648.3
billion for defense programs in fiscal 2008, including $127.5 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It also would authorize $143.5 billion for operations and maintenance; $109.9 billion for procurement; $122.9 billion for military personnel and $74.7 billion for research development, testing and evaluation.

     (The Senate vote results: #246, Amdt. 2019 to HR 1585, Passed 94-0: R 48-0; D 44-0 (ND 39-0, SD 5-0); I 2-0;

7/12/07; HRC voted yea while Obama did not vote.)

* Obama missed a vote to provide $109.3 billion in fiscal 2008 for the Department of Veterans Affairs: Obama did not vote for passage of the bill that would provide $109.3 billion in fiscal 2008 for the Department of Veterans Affairs, military construction and military housing. The bill would provide $87.5 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, including $37.2 billion for veterans health programs. It would provide $41.2 billion in mandatory spending for veterans' service-connected compensation benefits and pensions. The bill would provide $9.8 billion for military construction, $2.9 billion for military family housing and $8.5 billion for the latest round of base
closures. As amended, the bill would provide $100 million in emergency funding for the Homeland Security Department to reimburse state and local law enforcement entities for security and related costs associated with the 2008 presidential candidate nominating conventions. (From Vote 316, HR 2642 (Fiscal 2008 Military Construction-VA Appropriations), Passed 92-1: R 47-1; D 43-0 (ND 39-0, SD 4-0); I 2-0, 9/6/07; HRC voted yea while Obama did not vote.

Sure seems to me as if Senator Obama has a problem showing up for work. He has a real problem. If it were you or I we would have been sacked. But Mr. Obama isn't like you or me. He feels that he is entitled. He feels that he doesn't have to show up for work because, well, he is Barack Obama and he gives a good speech. He has no problem telling people how much he cares about them but when it comes to actually doing something about it he is nowhere to be seen. Or better put, he is out raising money and campaigning for a higher office. And this guy has the audacity to believe that he is qualified to do the job even though he isn't doing the job he was already hired to do. You and I would expect to lose our jobs if we didn't show up and do them. Obama believes he deserves a promotion. Those are some pretty big brass ones. Audacity indeed.

And what about the Walter Reed scandal? Where was Obama then? He sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee but for some reason was totally unaware what was going on. Even though the media apparently wasn't. Of course someone in the media probably showed up for work. The Washington Times was not amused.

The senators' call for simplifying paperwork, hiring more caseworkers and improving their training, requiring more oversight from inspectors general, improved reporting to Congress, establishing facility-repair timelines and increasing psychological counseling. It pains us to cry cynical politics because these measures would be worthy and welcome, but they are too small-bore and reactive to make a significant difference. This is classic scandal legislation which makes the sponsor look good but does little to solve the issue."

Get that? It makes the sponsor look good but does little to solve the issue. Sound familiar?

And just what happened to this proposed band aid fix that Obama touted last night that he passed and everyone should be so proud of him for? Just so happens that the proposal was referred to the Armed Services Committee where it was crafted into better more substantial legislation. You know the stuff, doesn't make anyone look particularly good because that isn't the purpose of it but it actually helps the people it is intended to help, and that substantially.

And who was it on the Armed Services Committee that actually provided substance to the much need legislation? That would be Hillary Clinton. Remember her? She is the one that actually does work. When it came time to pass the Wounded Warrior Act where was Senator Obama? He sure wasn't in the Senate doing his job. He didn't vote for the legislation he takes credit for passing. Nope, Barack was out of town telling folks how great he is and how much he cares about them. I am sure he didn't mention that while he was telling them how great he is and asking for their money he was missing voting on extremely important legislation that he would eventually take credit for. No, they probably wouldn't have liked that. And they probably wouldn't have given him any money. Or any votes. So the subject never came up.

Barack Obama has made a decision that it is more important for him to be out raising money and telling people how great he is rather than stay in Washington and do the job he is being paid by the American people to do. The Sub-Committee he Chairs is responsible for U.S. involvement with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), relations with the European Union (EU), and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Matters relating to Greenland and the northern polar region are also the responsibility of this subcommittee. The Sub-Committee is also responsible for all matters within the region under its jurisdiction with respect to terrorism and non-proliferation, crime and illicit narcotics, U.S. foreign assistance programs, and the promotion of U.S. trade and exports.

Sounds like pretty important stuff to me. But apparently not to Barack Obama.

Now, I always reserve the right for the president -- as commander in chief, I will always reserve the right to make sure that we are looking out for American interests.

So he reserves the right as Commander in Chief but not as the Chair of the Subcommittee responsible for oversight? How can we trust this guy to do something as Commander in Chief when he has not demonstrated a single instance of oversight when it HAS been his responsibility?

Senator Obama has made it the central issue of his campaign that the problem is politics as usual in Washington. But the problem isn't politics as usual, the problem is that the people that are hired by the American electorate are not doing the job they were hired to do. But then again, maybe that is the politics as usual that Obama is talking about. And he is right.

I leave you with a video from someone that is actually qualified to be our Commander in Chief because this person doesn't just tell people that she cares, she takes action and accomplishes it.

Update [2008-2-27 19:24:42 by Fleaflicker]: Russ Feingold has proposed legislation titled: A bill to provide for the safe redeployment of United States troops from Iraq. The bill has 15 co-sponsors listed below. One name notably absent from this proposed bill is none other than Senator Barack I Was Too Busy Running for President Obama.

Sen Boxer, Barbara [CA] - 2/25/2008

Sen Brown, Sherrod [OH] - 2/25/2008

Sen Byrd, Robert C. [WV] - 2/25/2008

Sen Clinton, Hillary Rodham [NY] - 2/25/2008

Sen Dodd, Christopher J. [CT] - 2/25/2008

Sen Durbin, Richard [IL] - 2/25/2008

Sen Harkin, Tom [IA] - 2/25/2008

Sen Lautenberg, Frank R. [NJ] - 2/26/2008

Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] - 2/25/2008

Sen Menendez, Robert [NJ] - 2/14/2008

Sen Reid, Harry [NV] - 2/13/2008

Sen Sanders, Bernard [VT] - 2/25/2008

Sen Schumer, Charles E. [NY] - 2/26/2008

Sen Whitehouse, Sheldon [RI] - 2/25/2008

Sen Wyden, Ron [OR] - 2/25/2008