The Water Cooler is a snapshot of some of the things people are talking about in politics

By Chris Ingram

Washington double-talk about the debt

In 2006 Senator Barack Obama voted against raising the federal debt ceiling saying we needed to “get serious  about fiscal discipline.” At the time of his vote against increasing the debt limit George W. Bush was president.  Obama and every Democrat in the U.S. Senate voted against raising the debt ceiling and every Republican voted for increasing it.

What Rush won't tell you: GOP's double-talk is as bad as Obama's

Today as president, Obama says those who oppose raising the debt ceiling are “irresponsible.”

Remember just five years ago, he said: “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.”

Thanks Barack. What’s changed? Does the buck no longer stop here? Do we deserve worse now? Is it now okay to shift the burden of bad choices onto the backs of our kids? Just where is the leadership?

So what is going on here?

This article appears in Jan 6-12, 2011.