John McCain isn't doing much in his first hours as presumptive GOP nominee to appease enviros who already are skeptical of the senator's green rhetoric.

Despite being in Washinton D.C. yesterday evening, McCain skipped a Senate vote on a $204 billion economic stimulus package that would have provided, among other things, billions in unemployment benefits, $1 billion in heating aid for the poor, and a package of tax breaks for renewable energy producers.

The bill failed by one vote, unable to hit the 60-vote threshold necessary to stop a GOP filibuster. The green provisions in the bill included a one-year extension of the Production Tax Credit and credits for energy-efficient homes and appliances.

McCain, who said he had been heading back to Washington aboard his campaign plane, told the Washington Post that "It's very hard. Obviously, I've missed a lot of votes. There's no doubt about it."

The thing is, as Think Progress confirmed today, both Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) were on the same plane as McCain, and they both made it to the Senate floor in time to cast their votes. Democratic frontrunners Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton both took rare detours from the campaign trail to vote in favor of the package.

McCain is certainly correct in his voting self-assessment. The only senator who has missed more votes during 110th Congress is South Dakota senator Tim Johnson, who suffered a brain hemmorhage in late 2006. For his part, McCain has missed 56.7 percent of the 450 floor votes.

Among the disgruntled is Friends of the Earth Action President Brent Blackwelder, who said that "if Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were able to find time to show up -- and they found time -- McCain should have too." DNC chairman Howard Dean also had some choice words: "John McCain had a chance to stand up for America's working families and help fix our ailing economy, but chose to protect his campaign instead."

And so begins the 9-month walk on the environmental fine line for McCain. How the senator plans to appease the base and maintain his independent staightalking cred should be an interesting dance to watch.