WH: Obama regrets vote against raising debt limit

[The Northerner]

WASHINGTON – The White House said on Monday that President Barack Obama regrets his vote as a senator in 2006 against raising the debt limit — a vote he's now pressuring Congress to take.

Obama "thinks it was a mistake," presidential spokesman Jay Carney told reporters. "He realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that, even when you are protesting an administration's policies, you can play around with."

The country will reach its debt limit of $14.3 trillion by May 16. If Congress doesn't raise it by then or shortly thereafter, the government would not be able to make debt payments, leading to an unprecedented default of the national debt and driving up borrowing costs for the government, U.S. companies and consumers, the Treasury Department warns.

Republicans who control the House are threatening to withhold their votes to increase the debt ceiling unless Obama agrees to major spending cuts. The White House is insistent that the debt ceiling be extended without any attempts to cut spending attached to it.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110411/ap_on_re_us/us_obama_debt_limit

[monmouth]

1. So IOW, the repubs have gone into the extortion business. How nice...n/t

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. I'm sorry I was so mean to that nice Mr Bush fellow. n/t

[doc03]

3. This guy is even caving in on the one time he took a

stand on principle. What would you call that a retroactive cave in?

[CountAllVotes]

4. no it is called being a hypocrite

!!

:dem: :kick:

[IndyPragmatist]

7. Well, I guess I agree with him on this now...

He never should have raised the debt limit. There are many other things he shouldn't have done, but raising the debt ceiling was a dumb idea.

[pnwmom]

15. Raising the debt ceiling is absolutely necessary.

If the government ever defaults on its debts, our credit rating would be in the toilet. Our currency would never have the value it does now. And, until we raised the debt limit ceiling, we wouldn't be able to pay Social Security, Medicare, troops salaries, government workers, holders of Treasury notes or bills, or support banks through the FDIC. Our whole financial system would come crashing down.

[luvspeas]

5. Not loving these new spokespeople....

Obama thinks it was a mistake????? I seriously have trouble seeing Obama expressing this in this way. And if he did say that, Carney should have worded it differently. Did he push the wrong button? Surely, he made the best decision he could at the time. Sounds stupid. I don't like Plouffe either And I don't like seeing that line of straight-laced uptight white guys standing there looking nervous and grave every time Obama speaks lately.

[mazzarro]

6. Prelude to major CAVE-IN

He is going to take a deep dive this time - it will be a MAJOR ONE!

[Kolesar]

9. Your spelunking metaphor appears again

plural "your"

[sasha031]

8. did anyone even question him about that vote

or did he voluntarily remind them?

it's obvious that at that time he knew their were enough votes in the Senate, my guess he voted against it was political.

[YellowRubberDuckie]

10. Our democracy is in the throws of death.

Mark my words. Either we will be living in a Corporate Theocracy or there will be a rather blood revolution against the rich and the country will start anew. This form of government cannot be sustained no matter how much they tell you otherwise. We need Democratic Socialism.
Duckie

[luvspeas]

11. how does one throw death?...

throes?

[YellowRubberDuckie]

13. Typo. The two keys are RIGHT NEXT to each other.

[luvspeas]

14. just teasing you :)

[PufPuf23]

17. One picks up the smelly roadkill by the tail and

starts mightily swinging the carcass to gain momentum and then let go to throw death.

IMO economic and power elite should be fair game targets and gain the thrower a bounty based on the target and rancidity of the carcass.

[mmonk]

12. The tax cuts should not have been extended. They should have been fought.

[pnwmom]

16. I fully agree. But that has nothing to do with raising the debt ceiling.

We should do both.

[mmonk]

18. They wouldn't be able to hold us hostage as the data would show

a declining deficit.

[badtoworse]

19. I can see a return to Clinton era taxes being part of a deal.

The deal would also include major cuts to entitlements and defense. I believe a raising of the debt ceiling without those elements would not be favorably viewed by the credit rating agencies. A downgrade of our debt would not be as bad as a default, but it would still be very bad.