WASHINGTON – Some of the best Republican arguments against President Barack Obama’s proposals to avoid a “fiscal cliff” come from the president himself, in comments he made months or years before his re-election.

Stung by the GOP’s midterm election gains in 2010, Obama took stands that differ from his current positions on raising tax rates, adjusting Social Security and other topics dominating Washington as a Dec. 31 deadline nears.

Sometimes gleefully, Republicans throw Obama’s old words back at him. They portray him as inconsistent at best, insincere at worst.