The only senator who has missed more votes than John McCain in this session of Congress is Tim Johnson, and that's because he suffered a brain hemorrhage in December.

So it would appear. I don't grade senators on attendence, though.

It's certainly not the only metric on which they should be graded, but I do think it's an important one to consider. If I elect someone to be my representative in Congress, I expect them to at least be present for a majority of the votes. It is their job, after all, and they get paid pretty well.

I think the importance of the votes matters, and whether the outcome changed because they weren't there. Their job is making good policies, not just voting, and this requires debate (missing from a simple vote-counting metric) as well as travel and campaigning.

Debating and campaigning are all well and good, but they're ultimately useless unless accompanied by votes.

After all is said and done, minds may be changed by debate, but policies can only be changed by votes. A representative who doesn't vote is worth far less than one who does.

In my experience, it appears that what you say often isn't true. The "worth" of a representative, if by that you mean their effectiveness in enacting the policies they believe in, is determined by many factors. Some of these have to do with the committee structure of the house and senate, and some have to do with less tangible issues of political and social power.

All senators have equal votes on the full floor, but not all senators have equal influence. It's more than votes that matter.

Again, I agree that influence and debate are very important in politics. But the very reason they are important is because they help you win votes for or against the issues you care about.

If someone doesn't care enough about an issue to vote on it themselves, do you really think they're using their time trying to influence other policymakers to vote on that issue?

Everything comes down to votes. Without votes, no policies get changed. Period. In Congress, as in life, actions speak louder than words.

Not to be absurdly reductionist, but when someone is trying to get a promotion, looking at how he's doing his current job isn't at all unreasonable.