Democrats say please ignore my past votes on debt ceilings

Does this obvious change for political reasons really fly?

In 2006, then-Sen. Obama cast a “no” vote on extending the debt ceiling to signal his seriousness about addressing runaway entitlement and military spending — along with tax breaks for the wealthy — problems he’s long identified as the country’s principal fiscal ills.

On Monday, Carney said Obama now views that as a “mistake,” and cast an apocalyptic picture if the upcoming vote, which will likely take place next month, failed. . . .

House minority Whip Steny Hoyer has also seen the light.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer has joined President Obama in conceding he blundered by voting against raising the federal government's debt ceiling.

“I have voted against the debt limit in the past. That was a mistake,” Hoyer (Md.), the second-ranking House Democrat, said in an unprompted admission to reporters on Tuesday.

His comment came two days after White House adviser David Plouffe said Obama made a mistake by voting against raising the debt ceiling as a senator. . . .