Listening to Speaker of the House John Boehner's recent speeches, I find myself thinking that maybe all a power-mad villain really needs to change their ways is a hug. That's not to suggest that Boehner is a villain, and he doesn't seem especially power-mad, despite his insistence on holding a vote on repealing the healthcare reform law that is guaranteed to go no further than the House.
What is striking about Boehner, though, is how fraught he always seems on a big stage. It's not just the crying, it's the way he seems overwhelmed by whatever event is putting him in the spotlight in the first place.
As much as I think humility is an under-appreciated and overly scarce virtue among our elected officials, this guy is taking it a bit too far. I don't doubt the sincerity of Boehner's feelings, but the fact that he seems unable to control them worries me. If he aspires to be an effective counterweight to the power of the party that controls the government (and has shown the spine to govern, even knowing it would cost them), it seems to me he really needs to show more steely resolve than rivers of tears. Perhaps he'd be able to do it if someone just would give him a hug.
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