White House Press Secretary Jay Carney dodged a question from ABC’s Jon Karl on whether President Obama deserves any blame for the government shutdown Tuesday.
"He certainly did not vote to shut the government down. And if that's what you're asking, no, he did not vote the shut the government down. The Republicans did," Carney responded.
Below is a transcript of the exchange between Jon Karl and Jay Carney:
Q: Does the president bear any responsibility whatsoever for what's going on, this mess?
MR. CARNEY: I'm not sure what you mean. I mean, the president --
Q: (Inaudible) -- bear any -- does he have any blame for the government shutdown?
MR. CARNEY: The president's president of the United States, and it is his responsibility to try to work with Congress in a --
Q: And that hasn't --
MR. CARNEY: -- spirit of compromise.
Well, he's -- look, has he or has he not put forward a compromise budget proposal? The answer is yes.
Q: But does he bear any responsibility? It's a simple question. Does he bear any responsibility.
MR. CARNEY: He certainly did not vote to shut the government down. And if that's what you're asking, no, he did not vote the shut the government down. The Republicans did.
Q: No, I'm asking if he bears any responsibility.
MR. CARNEY: Jon (sp), he did not -- Republicans in Congress chose to shut the government down.
The option to keep it open was available to them. It's an option that the majority of the House of Representatives supports, a bipartisan majority.
Q: But has the president failed to create an environment where this stuff doesn't happen?
MR. CARNEY: Really? By having multiple meetings and dinners --
Q: I'm asking.
MR. CARNEY: No. He's had multiple meetings --
Q: So he's done nothing wrong at all. This is all the Republicans' doing on their own --
MR. CARNEY: Well, Jon you can, you know, do an essay or decide for yourself and make those judgments.