Boehner Shows Leadership

I've never been enthusiastic about John Boehner and wonder if anyone outside his immediate family has either. He's not a bad looking guy and he wouldn't have gotten to where he is today without discipline, hard work, and some brains but nothing about the guy is exciting. Lately though, and especially when he follows Obama on the news reports, he looks poised, calm, confident, and reassuring. No drama Obama, on the other hand, scold, pouts, and threatens. Then he summons congressional leaders to the White House like he thinks he's ordering a pizza.

I've long suspected the Democrats' strategy was to actually have a shutdown of the government, confident the Republicans would be blamed by the voters. The president's debt commission's report has been out for going on two years and the Republicans would have gladly implemented its recommended tax reforms but instead it was ignored. Only after a historic election when they lost the House did the Democrats become interested in tax reform and that wasn't until the debt limit debate began in earnest. Then they selectively chose hedge funds, oil companies, and corporate jets, all highly visible targets, as the objects of their new found antipathy. This is all politics and class warfare. Now the latest demand is the debt ceiling be sufficient to get everyone past the next election the purported reason being the uncertainty is bad for business.

In the past few days, since he broke off negotiations with the White House, John Boehner is looking down right presidential. He has promised a debt ceiling bill based on Cut, Cap, and Balance in a shorter form that would allow a small increase in the debt ceiling with spending cuts equal to the amount of increase. The time gained by the short term extension would be used to enact tax reform and the other legislation necessary for a long term debt limit deal. Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi immediately dissed the idea and this morning Timothy Geithner and Bill Daley hit the talk shows with the message that a stop gap measure would be unacceptable to the administration.

Looking confident and svelte in his dark suit, John Boehner quietly announced he would continue to work on the bill anyway. He is doing what Obama warned Eric Cantor not to do. He is calling Obama's bluff! Better yet he is showing leadership.
Update: Read what Boehner said to the Republican Caucus.