Sarah Palin came to the conclusion Friday that Obama's willingness to raise the debt ceiling could only be interpreted as a sign that he was "hell-bent on weakening America," because he had before noted that such actions should be avoided.
"He has told us back in March of 06, he told us that it weakens America domestically and internationally to raise debt, right, to raise the debt ceiling," Palin told Laura Ingraham on her radio show. "And he said it is a sign of failed leadership to support raising the debt ceiling."
Palin then contended that Obama was "purposefully weakening America because he understood that debt weakens America."
Pressed by Ingraham further about this allegation, Palin seemed to claim that it was the only possible explanation, but neglected to give any further insight into a potential motive for why Obama would be "weakening" the nation.
Politico reports Friday about Obama's earlier comment:
Ironically, an Illinois senator named Barack Obama seemed to understand the political calculus of the debt ceiling in 2006; he voted against just such an increase that year, saying that it was "a sign of leadership failure" and that "Americans deserve better." That measure passed narrowly in the Senate, and White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Wednesday that Obama voted against it, knowing it would be approved without his vote.
In the past week, Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Austan Goolsbee and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, two key pilots of the Obama administration's economic policy, have both warned of the catastrophic consequences that could be induced by failing to raise the debt ceiling.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) appears to have heeded those warning, admitting recently that the GOP's potential resistance to increasing the debt limit could lead to "collapse and calamity throughout the world."
WATCH: