海角大神

John Boehner likes Jeb Bush for president (but, shhh, don't tell Barbara Bush)

House Speaker John Boehner (R) said he isn't endorsing former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, but he'd sure 'make a great president.' He also told 'Tonight Show' host Jay Leno why he went along with the government shutdown last fall.

|
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio meets with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Jan. 16, 2014.

Who鈥檚 got the tougher job: President Obama or the speaker of the House, Republican John Boehner of Ohio?

It鈥檚 clear from his interview with Jay Leno, aired Thursday on "The Tonight Show," that Speaker Boehner sees the White House as the worst of the two places to be. Asked if he鈥檇 ever run for president, Boehner immediately answered no.

It鈥檇 just be too tough on his personal habits.聽鈥淟isten, I like to play golf. I like to cut my own grass,鈥 he explained. Both activities contribute to his famous tan 鈥 also a topic of discussion. 鈥淵ou know, I do drink red wine. I smoke cigarettes. And I'm not giving that up to be the president of the United States."

The studio audience applauded.

But Boehner had a suggestion for who might occupy the Oval Office in 2016. How about Jeb Bush? Not that he鈥檚 endorsing the former Republican governor of Florida. (Who would want to cross the Bush matriarch, Barbara, who has laid down the line: No more Bushes in the White House?) "I'm not endorsing anyone,鈥 Boehner told Mr. Leno, adding, 鈥淛eb Bush is my friend and I frankly think he'd make a great president."

Chris Christie and his problems with Bridge-gate? It doesn鈥檛 appear that the New Jersey governor, a GOP presidential favorite up until now, knew anything about it, the speaker said. Then he added: 鈥淭his is not going to go away anytime soon.鈥

As for the job of speaker, Boehner made it out to be no picnic, either. Leno asked him about Republican infighting 鈥 whether it鈥檚 the worst he鈥檚 ever seen on Capitol Hill.

鈥淥h no, it鈥檚 鈥 well, maybe it is,鈥 he said. 鈥淧robably. Yeah, probably.鈥 As the audience laughed, Boehner added, 鈥淚t鈥檚 bad.鈥 But, he qualified, 鈥渢he funny thing about the so-called infighting is that we agree on all the goals. We think Obamacare is bad for the country. We think we shouldn鈥檛 spend more than we bring in. We think the president is ignoring the law.鈥 The fight is over tactics, he said.

He acknowledged that, 鈥測ep,鈥 the Republicans were to blame for the partial government shutdown in October over the Affordable Care Act. He candidly laid out that this wasn鈥檛 his idea. In the end, though, he felt he had to go along with it.

鈥淚 told my colleagues in July I didn鈥檛 think shutting down the government over Obamacare would work because the president said, 鈥業鈥檓 not going to negotiate,鈥 鈥 Boehner said. But other Republicans insisted on going ahead. 鈥淲hen I looked up, I saw my colleagues going this way. And you learn that a leader without followers is simply a man taking a walk.鈥 So I said, 鈥榊ou want to fight this fight? I鈥檒l go fight the fight with you.鈥 鈥

Yes, it鈥檚 not easy being John Boehner. The speaker joked about how tough it is to be a public figure with a name no one knows how to pronounce. 鈥淚t's hard running for office when people can't say your name. You know, my name looks like Beener, Bonner, Boner.鈥

For the record. It鈥檚 BAY-ner.聽

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
海角大神 was founded in 1908 to lift the standard of journalism and uplift humanity. We aim to 鈥渟peak the truth in love.鈥 Our goal is not to tell you what to think, but to give you the essential knowledge and understanding to come to your own intelligent conclusions. Join us in this mission by subscribing.
QR Code to John Boehner likes Jeb Bush for president (but, shhh, don't tell Barbara Bush)
Read this article in
/USA/Elections/Vox-News/2014/0124/John-Boehner-likes-Jeb-Bush-for-president-but-shhh-don-t-tell-Barbara-Bush
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
/subscribe