With six members of the U.S. Senate running for president, we decided to examine how much of their day job the candidates are missing while on the road trolling for supporters and campaign contributions.
 
In September, the top honor goes to Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona for missing 70 percent of recorded votes, absent for 33 out of 47 roll calls. On the Democratic side, the top absentee was Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois with 31 missed votes, according to our tally.
 
In the case of McCain, who has faltered in national polls because of his steadfast support of President George W. Bush’s Iraq war plan, he missed a vote for a non-binding resolution calling for the creation of separate Sunni, Shi’ite and Kurdish federal regions with a weak central government in Baghdad. It passed but Iraq’s government has panned the idea.
 
“Senator McCain is dedicated to his duties in the Senate and representing the people of Arizona,” said his campaign spokesman Brian Rogers. “He is committed to making every effort to be in the Senate on any occasion in which missing a vote could affect its outcome.”

One vote Obama missed was for final passage of a bill he had sought as a candidate: to overhaul U.S. college student aid by cutting subsidies given to lenders. He called for the measure in May, but missed the Sept. 7 roll call because he was campaigning in California.
 
However, his campaign pointed to measures he proposed that were approved such as job protection for military family members while caring for wounded soldiers and better disclosure of campaign donations.
 
“Senator Obama continues to work hard on behalf of the people of Illinois,” said spokeswoman Jen Psaki. “He is proud of his recent record of accomplishments in the Senate, including his leadership on the sweeping ethics reform bill recently signed into law, his commitment to increase Pell Grant funding and, most importantly, his efforts to end the war in Iraq.”
 
The candidate who missed the least number of recorded votes was the other Republican senator running for the White House, Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas, with eight missed roll calls. The Democrat who missed the least number of votes was the party’s front runner Sen. Hillary Clinton who skipped 21 votes.

However, there was at least one day that all the candidates were present for all votes on the Senate floor, Sept. 19 when there were votes on measures aimed at giving more home leave to U.S. troops in Iraq.

– Photo credits: Jason Reed (McCain); Joshua Lott (Obama)