As Gerald notes notes, Jonathan Kaplan at PPH is also on the perfect attendance beat.
Why all the attention to this issue right now? Anyone? Good thing there isn't a war on.
To Kaplan's credit, he at least makes it clear that Allen has a stellar attendance record. And he finds space to lampoon Collins' kooky obsession with the issue:
Remember the student in high school who won an award at graduation because she never missed a day? That child has grown up, and her name is Sen. Susan Collins."Yes," he seems to be saying, "this is a profoundly stupid discussion, not worthy of adults." (And then the article goes on for another 977 words.)
I do have one quibble with Kaplan's formulation: In truth, a perfect attendance award seems like the stuff of a middle school graduation rather than a high school ceremony.
At least in my experience, by the time high school rolled around, principals and teachers were all too ready to concede that perfect attendance was less important than what you did in class; that the smartest kid in school wasn't necessarily the one who never missed a quiz.
And when it came to high school elections, bragging about an unbroken attendance streak would have been a surefire way to get laughed at--and not much of a strategy for winning votes. Even ninth graders know that never being absent isn't much of a leadership credential.
My hunch is that Mainers--with or without the help of the Maine media--will come to similar conclusions.
UPDATE: A request: Can reporters please stop referring to Collins' never-been-absent streak as her "voting record"? A voting record is a list of votes one has cast.
Maybe it's time to start to looking at a few of those votes?
3 comments:
I've stuggle with how to describe it myself, since as you note "voting record" is not "was there for every vote." Add in editors (which I obviously do not have) and it makes matters worse.
Peace - Gerald
I would call it an "attendance record" or a "voting streak."
It's not how often she voted, its HOW she voted.
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