President Obama, for instance, wants Congress to raise the national debt limit. But his opponents have brought up a statement that then-Sen. Barack Obama made in 2006: The first-term Democrat representing Illinois said that merely debating a debt-limit increase was "a sign of leadership failure."
"Increasing America's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that the buck stops here," Obama said then. "Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. . . . I therefore intend to oppose the effort to increase America's debt limit."But it was politically expedient, then.
In April, Obama told ABC's George Stephanopoulos that his vote against raising the debt ceiling had been a mistake. He appealed to the current Congress to vote yes, saying that Sen. Obama was a bad example to follow.
President Obama now insists that he had the right to dispatch U.S. forces to the conflict in Libya without authorization from Congress.
"The president does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation," Obama said four years ago.
"Senator Barack Obama would be among the Obama administration's fiercest critics," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker Boehner. "In 2007, he urged Congress to stand up to the White House, but now . . . he's hiding behind the claim that there's nothing hostile about bombs, missile strikes and Predator drones."
Didn't we used to have an Irony Meter here? In the shop again?
Asked about the apparent contradictions last week, a White House spokesman said that "the president has already explained his position on each of these issues, and we will let those responses speak for themselves."
We already answered that question. Next!