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Obama on the debt limit in 2006, he voted against increasing the ceiling:

"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 U.S. Government can’t 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."

We've had The Gipper, now we have The Flipper..

WSJ:
"President Barack Obama “regrets” his vote against raising the debt ceiling when he was a senator and George W. Bush was president, White House press secretary Jay Carney said.

“He realizes now that raising the debt ceiling is so important to the health of this economy and the global economy that it is not a vote that even when you are protesting the administration’s policies you can play around with,” Mr. Carney said during Monday’s daily press briefing."

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Flashback 2004: Chris Matthews and Andrea Mitchell Think Raising Debt Ceiling 'Big Embarrassment for Republicans'
By Noel Sheppard | July 08, 2011 | 00:20

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MSNBC's Chris Matthews and Andrea Mitchell have been telling viewers in recent days that Republicans considering blocking an increase in the debt ceiling could be creating a financial crisis.

Seven years ago after George W. Bush was re-elected and the debt ceiling had been raised in November 2004, the perilously liberal couple felt Republicans should be "embarrassed" for having done so (transcripts follow with commentary):

ANDREA MITCHELL: But what is looking over his shoulder is history. He wants a legacy. He wants to be able to do something about Social Security. He knows he's got to do something about deficit reduction. That is the big embarrassment for Republicans. They ought to be ashamed of themselves, what the Hill Republicans have done. They've been worse than Democrats.

CHRIS MATTHEWS: They just increased the debt ceiling.

MITCHELL: Exactly.

This exchange occurred on the November 21, 2004, installment of "The Chris Matthews Show."

Yet as NewsBusters has been reporting, Matthews has in the past several days twice referred to Republicans as terrorists because they're refusing to support a raise in the debt ceiling if it includes tax increases.

For her part, Mitchell on Tuesday, during an interview with Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tx.) said, "You did say that some revenue -- tax reform couldn`t be done obviously by August 2nd, but some future tax reform that would close loopholes would be acceptable. But you want it to be revenue neutral, so that means that it would not add any money to the pot for any negotiation that could resolve this crisis."

So, not raising the debt ceiling is a "crisis" and the act of "terrorists" in 2011.

But in 2004, when there was a Republican in the White House, doing so was a "big embarrassment" for the GOP.

With this hapless duo, Republicans are damned if they do and damned if they don't.