Why Bungling Boehner Can't Be The GOP's Next Speaker

I wrote this recent post concerning Ohio Republican and House Minority Leader John Boehner's presumptuous media tour last week.

In it, I contended,

"Boehner is still tarred with the GOP House antics of 6 and 4 years ago. He has that surreal tan that so many others also notice and rarely fail to mention. And the apparently endless rounds of golf.

Seeing Boehner behaving like he will simply be crowned Speaker is disgusting to me. It demonstrates that Boehner, as presumptive Speaker for the GOP, and his party, is little different than Frisco Nan, and hers, when it comes to wanting power before working for the people who elected the House members.

If there were ever an instance to show people that the power game in Congress is rigged, it surely is Boehner counting votes of new members not yet elected, and simply taking on the role of Speaker in Waiting."

Now we have Boehner admitting, on Face The Nation this past Sunday, that he and, presumably, his fellow Republicans in the House, would take half a loaf, rather than fight for a full one. That is, they will cave and vote to extend the Bush tax cuts for some taxpayers, but not those with the highest incomes.

So much for principle. Or Boehner's intelligence and agility, for that matter.

Eric Cantor tried desperately to repair the damage this week, but it's not clear that is now possible.

The Wall Street Journal's staff editorial about this yesterday wondered if Boehner is "ready for prime time."

No, he's clearly not.

Which is why he shouldn't even pretend to be the next Speaker.

Here's how I see it. John Boehner is a GOP political hack who doesn't behave very intelligently. Eric Cantor is an extremely intelligent man who is in the GOP's current leadership cadre, and, for now, a politician.

See the difference? We know Boehner's a career pol, and that he's not very bright. However, we know Cantor is bright, but we don't yet know that he's a careerist in the federal government. Or politics generally, for that matter.

Shouldn't that make a potential GOP Speakership far more likely for Cantor, not Boehner?

I think so. Boehner's recent gaffe on CBS's Sunday morning talk show only reinforces that point.