I can only imagine the outrage from Pelosi if Bush did this.

WASHINGTON — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is breathing new life into a previously floated idea for resolving risky congressional fights over raising the government’s borrowing limit: the 14th Amendment.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pelosi said President Barack Obama may not like the idea, but she thinks it’s within his constitutional authority to raise the debt ceiling himself, in the event Congress fails to do so. Her pitch comes as House Republicans seem to be preparing for a fight over the matter in the coming days.

“I think the 14th Amendment covers it,” said Pelosi. “The president and I have a disagreement in that regard, I guess. I guess!”

She added, “I would never have taken that off the table.”

The federal government is on track to run out of money on Oct. 17. Instead of putting forward a clean bill to raise its borrowing limit, House Republicans are signaling they plan to load up their bill with unrelated measures that Democrats oppose — including delaying the implementation of health care reform. The debt limit, or the total amount of money the government is authorized to borrow to meet its existing obligations, currently stands at $16.7 trillion.

If Congress fails to reach a deal in time, the government will default on its debt obligations to other countries. Such a default could trigger another financial crisis in the U.S., with likely repercussions abroad.