“The fact that we are here today to debate raising America ’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government can not pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government’s reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America ’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that ‘the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better.” -- Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006
Nice find. I wonder what his response to this would be? Never mind, he would find some politicatian way to spin it to say it doesn't apply to the current situation.
Actually, he said that he was a younger senator then who didn't really understand the ramifications and now he does. In the end, obviously, it's just political games, on both sides. He was fighting it then to get leverage against Bush and Republicans and Republicans are fighting it now to get leverage against him and the Democrats. There's very rarely principle involved.
So he was a naive young senator who didn't really understand politics in 2006, and he was elected president in 2008. I get it's all a political game, which is why I enjoy the quote BP found, it exposes just how much poltical rehtoric is invovled . . . even by those that try to put themselves out there as a change to usual politics.
He was right then, but now that Bush year's changed the entire course of this country for a long time to come.
Most people also think they are smarter than average. Yeah, think about that for a second. Regardless, your original post has nothing to do with Obama's quote from 2006 compared to his bitching today.
It appears you think you are smarter than average ;-) It clearly connects. At the time he felt that way, now he is in a totally different situation and feels differently. Wait am I supposed to imagine that it is 2006 and he is the president? Magical thinking argument?
I imagine you can argue that all of the quote is still 100% on target today, but he is no longer in that position. Bush burned the house down, and now we are trying to rebuild it. Sadly the choices made over the last several years have led to further need to rely on borrowing money.
Other things come to mind, but the biggest is that we were running huge deficits in a STRONG ECONOMY in 2006. We were in a perfect position to get the deficit in control and didn't get it done. Honestly, is it really truly a surprise that the budget deficit got worse when we hit the worst economic conditions since the great depression? Rather than national bubble bursts, the entire global financial system is faltering. It's precisely this reason why I can't take the any of the usual conservatives on this board seriously when they gripe about the budget deficit. You didn't say squat when the conservative was in power and running up sizable deficits in a strong economy, so don't go all chicken little on us now when the econcomy sucks and the deficit has gotten bigger. Any arguments that the deficit is bigger now than then will be ignored because (a) like I said, stronger economy in 2006 and (b) fiscal responsibility was ignored in 2006. If you believe in it, preach it all the time -- not just when the party you don't like is in power. So where does that leave us? Step 1: quit your whiney ass bitching about the deficit and start working together to come up with solutions. All the griping finger pointing b.s. gets nothing done. Step 2: don't eff up our nation's credit rating by screwing with the debt ceiling (which would potentially have a severe and long lasting impact on the global economy) just so that you can continue your whiney ass bitching. Step 3: work together, give and take, come up with solutions. Taxes can be raised some, the Bush tax cuts don't need to be entirely repealed. Cut down on entitlements. Raise the social security age. Close loopholes. Work the fuck together. (I'm so sick of this conversation that I could punch someone.) Grow up. It's about the U.S.A, not R's and D's.
That's quite a lot of whiny bitching. Kettle... pot. Pot... kettle. This part was my favorite little gem of an ironic statement:
Guilty as charged: all of your whiney bitchiness has gotten to me. So cut it out and we can maybe get somewhere. That's the point.
