Memo to John Boehner: It's not about you.
The incoming Republican speaker of the House is getting attention for turning on the waterworks in public. My worry is that his frequent tears seem tied to a belief that his elevation is a personal vindication and proof the American dream still lives.
This is nonsense, unless he sees attaining government power as the American ideal.
Boehner, from Ohio, got choked up on "60 Minutes," where he accused President Obama of showing him "disrespect." In the next breath, he talked about how he hoped he and the president would play golf together.
Disrespect? Golf? Shades of Newt Gingrich who, as GOP House speaker in 1995, shut down the federal government out of pique after President Clinton banished him to the back of Air Force One.
Concerns about respect and whether Boehner would get a chance to tee off with the president definitely are not what voters had in mind when they handed the GOP a gain of 63 House seats.
The election was a rebuke to Obama's gross overreach and expansion of government. It was not a sign of approval for the little-known Boehner.
It was, as Marco Rubio, the new GOP senator from Florida, put it, "a second chance" for Republicans. Having been part of the House leadership that exploded spending when the GOP last ran Congress, Boehner should need no reminders.
Here's a challenge. Instead of playing golf with Obama, Boehner might suggest they both give up the game until 5 million more Americans can find jobs. That would be showing respect to the right people for the right reasons.
Michael Goodwin is a New York Post columnist and Fox News contributor. To continue reading this column, click here.
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