John Boehner appeared on CBS's Face the Nation on Sunday and when the subject of the national debt ceiling came up, Boehner chose to punt on his own responsibilities and asked the president to, y'a know, do something.
(Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner on Sunday said he is ready to cut a deal on raising the debt limit if only President Barack Obama would get serious about spending cuts. [...]
"I'm ready to cut the deal today. You know, we don't have to wait until the 11th hour," Boehner said on CBS's "Face the Nation."
He questioned whether Obama was serious about deficit reduction. "He's talking about it. But I'm not seeing real action yet," Boehner said.
We don't have to wait until the 11th hour, but we will, thanks to Republican brinkmanship.
It was at the 11th hour -- literally, as in 11 pm -- that a deal was finally reached over the remainder of the fiscal year 2011 budget which averted a government shutdown.
Of course saying he has seen no "action" from President Obama is a convenient argument for John Boehner to make, because there is little the president can do other than talk about it and make proposals, and he has done plenty of both. Spending bills originate inside the House of Representatives, which is John Boehner's turf.
The truth is John Boehner has no idea, once again, how he is going to simultaneously appease the lunatic base and not single handedly implode the economy. And he sure wishes President Obama would make his job easier for him.
Pushing the nation to the brink didn't work out very well for the Republicans, or John Boehner, last time and I don't believe It will this time either.