When White House press secretary Jay Carney uses the phrase "the previous administration" it is usually an opportunity for him to point out that President Obama "inherited" problems and a poor economy from former President Bush.
However, at today's press briefing, Carney was more than happy to cite the Bush administration when it came to explaining President Obama's recent recess appointment of Richard Cordray to head the watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
For example, when a member of the WH press corps reminded Carney that candidate Obama "railed against the executive powers that the Bush-Cheney White House had expanded," the press secretary said that comparison is "apples and oranges." (First clip in video)
"I think there are apples and oranges here in terms of the use and extent of executive authority. I would simply point to the stats I just gave you about recess appointments, which is a well-established tradition and authority granted by the Constitution to Presidents of the United States, an authority that this President has used discriminatingly by comparison to President Bush, for example," Carney said at today's briefing.
Later in the briefing when Carney was peppered with questions about the legality of the appointments -- whether the Senate was in session or not -- he was more than happy to cite the Bush administration for legal precedent. In fact, in the exchange that is transcribed below, Carney interrupted a question from FOX News' Ed Henry to point out that the Bush administration cited and used the same legal precedent that Obama is. (Second clip in video)
Transcript of the exchange Carney had with FOX News' Ed Henry is below.
Q But when you say “change the way you do business,” on the substance of how recess appointments go forward, you guys cite all kinds of legal precedent --MR.
CARNEY: Including Bush administration -- Bush arguments right?
Q -- we quoted and others quoted yesterday saying that you had the constitutional power to do this. Nevertheless, when you say now they’re in recess, they’re not working -- Democrats, like Harry Reid, as recently as 2008, when George W. Bush was in office, agreed with the Bush White House -- which he was not friendly with -- that when they’re in pro forma session, then in fact they’re not in recess. They’re open for business. They’re not doing a lot, but there was an agreement that President Bush would not do -- he did plenty of recess appointments. But when they were in pro forma session, he did not. He accepted that precedent. And Harry Reid as recently as 2008 was saying this.
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