Gephardt misses vote - and there are consequences

I've been criticizing my senator (John Kerry) so much for missing votes, that I forget about Dick Gephardt who has skipped around 90% of all the House votes in this past session. His dereliction of duty has finally caught up with the Missouri representative:

Democratic presidential hopeful Dick Gephardt missed a House vote Friday on a Republican-backed bill that would overhaul the landmark Head Start education program, a measure that survived in the House by a hairbreadth margin.

The 217-216 Republican victory came after midnight Thursday and was so tenuous that Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., recovering from a car accident, was brought in by wheelchair. But Gephardt, the former House Minority leader, had left Thursday evening for a two-day campaign swing through South Carolina, and the Head Start vote became one of hundreds he has missed this year.

"Hundreds"! Might I be so sanguine to say that this may be a deadly blow to Gephardt's presidential bid? After all, it just doesn't look good to go out on the campaign trail and say you're fighting for the people, then miss votes on critical legislation. As the Brits would say: "Bad form, old chap."