Washington (CNN) – Republican presidential candidates issued harsh criticism of President Barack Obama Friday after the credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s announced it was downgrading America’s long-term debt status.
“America’s creditworthiness just became the latest casualty in President Obama’s failed record of leadership on the economy,” Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney said in a statement. “Standard & Poor’s rating downgrade is a deeply troubling indicator of our country’s decline under President Obama. His failed policies have led to high unemployment, skyrocketing deficits, and now, the unprecedented loss of our nation’s prized AAA credit rating.”
The Obama administration cites a calculation error by Standard and Poor’s for the downgrade, saying the firm was off by $2 trillion dollars in their calculation of America’s debt. The agency says that it based its downgrade partially on the country’s charged political climate.
Rep. Michele Bachmann echoed Romney in her statement, saying the downgrade reflects the president’s “failed economic policies.”
“This president has destroyed the credit rating of the United States,” Bachmann said.
Bachmann continued, “I call on the president to seek the immediate resignation of Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and to submit a plan with a list of cuts to balance the budget this year, turn our economy around and put Americans back to work."
Former Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman said the downgrade was a sign that Washington needed new leadership.
“We need new leadership in Washington committed to fiscal responsibility, a balanced budget, and job-friendly policies to get America working again,” Huntsman said.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum slammed the Obama administration for not taking more responsibility for America’s economic woes.
“I understand the U.S. Treasury is going back to Standard and Poor’s to say that a two trillion dollar mathematical error by S&P contributed to the downgrade,” Santorum said in a statement. “So, in addition to blaming President Bush for all of its problems, now the White House is blaming S&P – but this happened on the President's watch – and he has to deal with it.”
From CNN Politics
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Oh YEAH its the GOP's fault, its Bush fault, its FOX news fault. If we had all kept quite about the debt then this would not happen!
Wow!! The idiots here are really reaching trying to save their messiah. The grown up in the room r the ones bring the debt issue to everyone's attention b/c Obama and the Dems refuse to STOP SPENDING!!! GOP r labeled "terrorists" saying they want to blow up the economy. What exactly have Obama and the Dems been doing to this economy by spending over $5Trillion in 2yrs? Does any logical person think that Obama bailing out his friends on Wall Str, Unions, GE etc was helping the economy or "blowing" it up.
Obama said if we increase the debt we will not see our credit rating go down. Add that statment to the list of all the other statement where this clueless in chief has said that were simply not true. Anyone with brain know u don't spend money u don't have. The real terrorists here the DEMOCRATS. They have succeed in blowing up the US economy! The proof is there.
One only has to read the idiot logic in the comments of this article to realize why we're in the mess we're in. This nation has become one full of intellectually lazy and morally corrupt masochists 'governed' by a bunch of lying, self-serving sadists with erections from power lust. Guess what oh grand citizens of the U.S.? We get the government we deserve. The 'blame' lays squarely on our shoulders. Own up to it sheeple.
The libtards still blaming the tea party and Bush how Pathetic. Barack Hussein Osama has been in office for 3 years and things have gone downhill drastically. The blame Bush and tea party game is not working and the poll numbers show that. 2013 couldn't come soon enough. Sorry welfare and stamp recipients(ie the democratic party) time to go back to work and stop living off the hard working peoples taxes.
Mitzie do u have a brain? Obama said he could fix the economy, that unemployment would not go over 8% if we spend $1 trillion dollars in stimulus. That the housing market would be fixed if spend more billions bailing people who bought homes they could not afford. Said we avert a depression if we bailout Wall Street & car industry. Obama has spent over $5Tillion trying to fix & yet the economy continues to worsen! He has had 2.5 yrs to do so and cannot! The buck stops with Obama and his solution is to continue the spending. That is the definition of insanity!! Our debt is 100% of GDP now. If u don't get what that means for the future then it makes u equally insane!
Is anyone surprised that the US credit rating has been downgraded? Hopefully Americans can now see many within the Tea Party along with key Republicans for who they are, money hungry, fear mongering sociopaths. They bash the country and the middle class in the name of defending what? We come to find out that many of the Tea Party leaders are broke and financially irresponsible. Gee, they must have found out about all the secret money support extended to the Republicans by the banks who oppose Obama for calling for banking reform. Wake up America, vote the money hungry dogs out of office, them Republicans should be charged with treason!
NC – tea party will be extinct in 2012 – just wait & watch how this suicidal group gets rid of themselves.
@NC is representative of what is the Tea Party. NC didn't say WHO to elect on the republican ticket, just any old body will do. Even Palin. Even Perry. Just anybody but Obama. Hmmmm. Perfect example of a Tea Party profile and ideology. "I don't care about nothin', just make him the 1-term president that Mitch O'Connell and gang are workin' hard and makin' happen."
Odd that the GOP has such a short menory, unlike the rest of us who know that it was Bush & Co. that destroyed our economy with their tax breaks for the rich, non-existant oversight of bankers, Wall Street and the insurance industry, and 2 unpaid for wars. The GOP are starting to resemble a collection of spoiled 13 year olds hwo won't take responsiblity for cleaning their room after messing it up. Why don't we give the GOP a "time-out" come next election cycle so they can think on their adolescent behavior.
what a bunch of babies these supposed leaders are mot one of them is man or woman enough to lead this country Romney has his finger continuously pointed upwards to see which way the wind is blowing before he comments on anything what a weak slime ball
Let me ask u fools blaming the grownups in the room (ie GOP, Tea Party, FOX etc). If you make $40,0000/yr & owed over $50000 in debt, spent $60,0000/yr would u continue on the same path expecting "things will get better" or would change course and cut spending drastically to pay off ur debts.
Tax the rich people 100% & it could never fix this economic crisis. The tax Obama is proposing on corporate jet owners, would bring in $300 million. Not to mention it was his stimuls that gave them the tax break in the 1st place (look that one up!). that like. We don't have a revenue problem. We have a spending problem. If u supporters of Obama r not that bright to figure that out then God help us all!
Most politcians are so narrow that tearing down the other side is the only thing they know. That is basically their fulltime job. They also know that they will rebrand themselves and re-emerge even if they lose one election. Constituents are the one that are trapped and usually left with limited choices anyways. It is sometimes a choice between a liar and a thief, like the one we sawin Illinois. Now, the GOP candidates want to make a political capital out of this; meaning, on the back of the american people. Where were they when the debt ceiling debate was on the table?
I am an independent and despise the Dems almost as much as the Republicans. But for this, I place the blame directly on the T-party. Most of the Republicans were reasonable. It is the extremists (at both ends, but especially the T-Party) that are to blame. The T-Party is the group pushing "pledges" and not Obama. The T-Party is the no-compromise even if it means the whole economy goes in the toilet party.
Teabaggers are the worst Americans in history.
Any excuse to attack Obama ... even though totally unwarranted ... same ol' GOP tactics.
We were downgraded for NOT DOING ENOUGH. Obama was the one that kept on championing to do MORE. Over and over again he tried to get republicans to do more. Republicans weren't having anything that could be perceived as an Obama "victory". Who was the cause for the downgrade? 100% REPUBLICANS.
So S&P just downgraded us for many reasons, among the most recent of which were:
* Failing to expediently increase the debt ceiling
* Encouraging more debt spending than necessary (article mentions the retirement of the bush tax cuts...)
Thanks a lot you tea party/republican clowns. When our economy tanks and we all lose our investments because of your extremist nature, maybe we should knock on your door and demand repayment for the hell you just unleashed on our financial system.
But oh wait, the idiots among you now want to dabble in economics and think that ending free trade won't artificially raise domestic prices and lower productivity, or that ending the gas taxes wont have any effect on adequately funding infrastructure which is about the only thing we have going at the moment that the third world competition does not. Democracy is such a wonderful ideal until the idiots hijack the stage under the guise of moral righteousness
The United States has so many positive and redeeming values. Our people are resilient and only ask for a fair shake. We are innovative and will continue to lead the world. That being said it troubles me watching this ego driven posturing happening in Congress under the umbrella that this party and its special interests are concerned about the future of our country. A concrete example of the degree of their concern showed when they deliberately left town without resolving the FAA question. Is this what they call "job creation". I think some of the actions of the Speaker of the house and his Majority Whip verge on terrorism and effect a lot more people than Al Queda could harm. I try to stay away from these "post" sites since they generally attract the idelogues, racists, and people who are loose with the facts. Perhaps if these same people could put their energy in helping their communities in a postive way.
Obama 2012. Clinton 2016 & 2020. You voters know what to do in the next election. 2012 will be the biggest Democratic landslide in history, The Republicans and their Frankenstein monster tea party are toast...never ever vote for a Republican again.
What's new? All crooks and thieves try to point to someone else when they are the guilty party. Any intelligent person knows that the republicans caused this problem.
Michelle Bachmann......has done nothing notable while in office.
Rick Santorum.............has been figuratively booted out of Pennsylvania in his last election, his is now a Virginian. Pennsylvanians want no part of him.
They both allude to 'on his watch' when criticizing the President, however, neither has given full credit to Mr. Obama, who finally disposed of the number one terrorist, Osama bin Ladin..... 'on his watch'.
I am holding on to one last string, hoping that a true, really true patriot with power and authority will put an end to the nonsense we've witnessed with candidates like Bachmann, Santorum, Tea party and Republicans in general. America deserves much better.
It doesn't matter what the Obama haters say- They would blame bad weather on Obama. The real question is who do the independent (i.e. thinking) voters blame? This independent voter blames the uncompromising T-Party.
These guys have a lot of nerve laying blame on Obama – when S&P clearly stated *numerous* times, one of the reasons for the downgrade was because Republicans refuse to let the Bush tax cuts for wealthy people expire!
I don't blame S&P because it is clear to them that the Rethugs/tea baggers inflicted "collateral damage" on the American people to target President Obama sending a clear message to S&P and around the World the same won't happen to them.
In the run up to 2008, Standard & Poor (and its competitors) handed out high ratings like candy. There were conflicts of interest, and in the aftermath there was even talk of litigation. Meanwhile, S & P (and Moody's) seem to have discovered religion or something, and started preaching to others. Both spent the last few months on their respective soapboxes, preaching morality to the government. Now Moody's graciously permits the US to keep its high rating while S & P is made of sterner stuff. Only a politician or a pundit would take such self-serving theatrics seriously.
Good going, GOP. Is there anything else you'd like to do for this country?
Just curious, are there any adults at all in the GOP?
S&P blamed both the Bush and Obama administrations equally for the current mess. Both Republicans and Democrats are equally to blame. Now, you can keep up the blame game and accomplish nothing or members of Congress can sit down to find a solution(s). Ban all lobbyists from Washingtion to eliminate their influence in the neogoiations.