An Amendment Aimed to Tease

WASHINGTON â?? Call it the showdown at the budget corral.

Trying to embarrass Senator Barack Obama, Senator Wayne Allard, Republican of Colorado, offered an amendment Thursday that purported to total up the costs of Mr. Obamaâ??s favored initiatives to the tune of $1.4 trillion, which would then be added to the $3 trillion budget.

The message, of course, was that Mr. Obama, a Democratic presidential candidate from Illinois, is a big taxer and spender.

Senator Kent Conrad, Democrat of North Dakota, the chairman of the Budget Committee and an Obama supporter, ridiculed the proposal as â??make-believe,â?� noting that Mr. Obama is not president nor has he submitted a budget.

Senators, including Mr. Allard, quickly lined up to vote against the plan. As the time allowed for the vote neared an end, Mr. Obama and his entourage, including Senators Richard J. Durbin of Illinois and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, both Democrats, strode purposefully into the chamber. It was a swinging-saloon-door moment.

Mr. Obama marched to the well of the Senate and gave a hard glare to the Republican side.

â??Hey, Allard,â?� Mr. Obama was heard to shout at a volume unusual for the Senate. â??You working this hard?â?� he asked, sarcastically dismissing the amendment as a ploy.

Somewhat sheepishly, Mr. Allard gave his colleague the thumbs-up Senate sign for an affirmative vote and urged him to back the amendment. Mr. Obama declined, voting no, as did the other Democratic presidential candidate on hand, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York, and everyone else present. He and his colleagues then strode off.

The orphaned amendment was shot down 97 to 0.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/wa...4spend.html?hp

Poor Obama, can't even vote for his own measures. LMAO!!!!

Have a good one!:s4:

Can be quite embarrassing having your bluff called.

P4B, did you not criticize the Democrats in the past for passing bills the president said he would veto and call it a waist of tax payer money? How is some BS vote like this not a waist of money and time? The Democrat's "tax and spend" is no better then the GOP's "borrow and spend". I don't like the earmarks, but atleast Obama has listed his, unlike Clinton.

I think I'm more upset at the fact it is a $3 trillion dollar budget with over $9 trillion in national debt and these people seem to act like irresponsible 20something year olds overspending on needless items. Don't forget the US has some $40 trillion in future commitments such as Social Security, Medicare/caid and maturing bonds. The "baby boom" generation is starting to retire and its only gonna get worse.