CNN host Wolf Blitzer pressed White House Press Secretary Jay Carney as to why the president says he will refuse to negotiate with Congress over raising the debt ceiling Thursday on CNN.
Despite previous administrations routinely negotiating with Congress on the country's debt limit, Carney emphasized that President Obama will not negotiate on the debt ceiling when partisan objections are in play.
Blitzer then appropriately asked Carney to "remind us why the president as a senator voted against raising the debt ceiling."
In a moment of complete contradiction, Carney responded then Senator Obama voted against the debt ceiling increase in 2006 to make a point about "what he believed were wrong fiscal priorities of [the Bush] administration":
JAY CARNEY: Here's the deal. He's not asking for anything to raise the debt ceiling. It's Congress' responsibility to raise it. He's not saying I will only sign an increase in the debt ceiling if congress attaches one of my priorities. Only the Republicans are saying that they will threaten the full faith and credit of the United States if they don't get some partisan objective, some other item attached to the debt ceiling. We're not asking for anything. We're not asking for any legislative agenda item to be attached to raising the debt ceiling. We're just saying that we agree we should never default, we should never even contemplate default and congress ought to raise the debt ceiling. Only one party is asking something else.
WOLF BLITZER: Very quickly, remind us why the president as a senator voted against raising the debt ceiling?
JAY CARNEY: The president voted against raising the debt ceiling as a senator to make a point about what he believed were wrong fiscal priorities of that administration. [...]
(H/T Mediate)