John Boehner stood before the packed House chamber; its members and their families were giving him a standing ovation. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the tears from his eyes – he always hated about himself that he’s prone to crying at important moments – and waved his audience to their seats. “I’m still [...]
Michael Grunwald and I teamed up to write this week’s cover story, a profile of the speaker-in-waiting, John Boehner. It was striking in trying to coax Boehner into speaking to us – he never did – how much he wanted to avoid the limelight. The victory, his staff said, was not about him, but about [...]
When Speakers retire — and this is pure speculation, Nate Silver this morning still gave Dems a 20% chance of keeping the House — but, historically speaking, when speakers retire they tend to drop off the map (Denny Hastert, Jim Wright), hover in political circles (Newt Gingrich), write a book (Tip O’Neill), or lark off [...]
House Minority Leader John Boehner sat down with political reporters today at a lunch sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor. He was asked right off the bat about what his agenda would be if Republicans win the House in November and he’s chosen as Speaker. Boehner was quick to note that his conference had just [...]
