On Debt Ceiling Debate, Tim Geithner Reads from 14th Amendment: Debt Shall Not Be Questioned

At a Politico Playbook breakfast on May 25, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was asked by the event's host, Mike Allen, about negotiations over default and the debt ceiling. Before we get to Geithner's cute little response, let us first look at Obama's response to the same type of question.

At a briefing with reporters yesterday, Obama dodged a question about the debt ceiling. "I'm not a Supreme Court Justice, so I'm not going to put my constitutional law professor hat on here," he said. Is Obama a dick? Mark Halperin thinks so.

Geithner, with his startlingly jerky head movements and baby hyena laugh, yanked out a pocket-sized Constitution from his pocket and decisively answered the same question Obama ducked. This was at the May 25 breakfast. Says Geithner:

"I think there are some people who are pretending not to understand it, who think there's leverage for them in threatening a default," Geithner said. "I don't understand it as a negotiating position. I mean really think about it, you're going to say that-- can I read you the 14th amendment?"

The mini Constitution was paper clipped to the proper passage, and Geithner read to the Politico breakfast:

"The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for the payments of pension and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion..."

and then Geithner paused to say, "this is the important thing", and then continued reading,

"...shall not be questioned."