WASHINGTON (AP) — After the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. government’s credit rating, the White House said Saturday that President Barack Obama believes it’s clear Washington “must do better” in tackling the deficit.While Republicans and Democrats traded blame over Friday’s move by Standard & Poor’s to lower its AAA credit rating, a statement from White House press secretary Jay Carney was muted in tone and did not refer directly to the downgrade.Administration officials privately called S&P’s analysis flawed. But Obama himself refrained from comment as he spent the weekend at Camp David.The move by the key credit agency reflected disappointment with Tuesday’s pact hiking the U.S. borrowing limit, which called for roughly $2 trillion in deficit cuts over the next decade. It had previously called for cuts approaching $4 trillion.In a statement Saturday, Carney called the hard-fought deal “an important step in the right direction.”