John Boehner’s Sudden Fame

Thanks, Mr. President, for that kind introduction.

by Fred Barnes - September 20, 2010 (Publication date) - The Weekly Standard

Boehner is more formidable than Obama probably thinks. He benefits from his experience when Republicans controlled the House after the 1994 Republican landslide. He learned two lessons, according to [Rep. Paul] Ryan: not to make a promise you can’t keep and not to allow “the majority to atrophy.” Republicans lost their majority when “incumbent protection and an earmark culture” became an obsession, Ryan says, and Boehner was “singed by his experience.” If Boehner becomes House speaker, that won’t happen again, Ryan insists.

Though I had not previously been a John Boehner fan, believing him to be part of the gullible Republican leadership, this article by Fred Barnes has caused me to look at Boehner with a different perspective.

Barnes is not always the best person to listen to, however he does speak for a lot of conservatives. Barnes was not always a Hastert fan and he had criticism for Republicans when they started spending money with abandon. If Boehner is not a neo-progressive Republican in the mold of Rove, Bush and Hastert, he may be better than I had hoped. However it has not seemed that those who support Boehner believe as Barnes claims he does. The other Republican leaders around Boehner have viciously attacked anyone from the Tea Party movement.

I guess we will see.

Though Fred probably does not see it as food for comment, I did love the insult that Obama threw at John Boehner for being "a person of color", speaking sarcastically about his constant tan. I just wonder what Obama's reaction would be if anyone made a joke about his own skin color? The other joke about the Obama attacks on Boehner is even more humorous, "It is clear that Obama desperately needs someone new to attack since 'It's Bush's fault' is no longer working." I love it!