I think that to some extent you can do this with most candidates, but Obama seems especially prone to contradicting his earlier self.
In this case, he’s piously taking the high ground now. Clearly he’s hoping that no one call him on it.
Needless to say, the media won’t.
Something should go here, maybe later. 
There’s something very strange about Barack Obama. No matter how many months of economic and employment growth the US has, no matter how well people have done in office (George W, in his first term, passed legislation that has done brilliantly for health and the environment), it’s never good enough for him. I wonder if he looks in the mirror each morning and says, “Well, this will do for today, but in a year’s time, it just won’t be good enough.”