As we watch poor House Speaker, John Boehner, suffering one humiliation after another while he twists and turns like a pretzel trying desperately to hold onto his job, there is only one question that comes immediately to mind . . . . why?
Why in God's name would any sane person want to hold onto a job for which he is so clearly unsuited and from which he receives only the undisguised contempt of both allies and adversaries.
As the third most powerful position in Washington D.C. I could see Mr. Boehner clutching onto the Speakership for dear life if he actually had any power, but the sad truth is he doesn't. In fact, as far as power inside the Capitol goes, I'd say John Boehner is in negative territory, he has minus power.
Popular MSNBC host, Rachel Maddow, has unceremoniously declared on numerous occasions that Boehner is incredibly bad at his job, but it goes beyond that. Not only is he probably the worst speaker in the history of the position, he may also be the most ineffectual. He can't negotiate with the President or Democrats in Congress because he has no ability to deliver on any deal he might strike with them. He has no sway in his own caucus because he is distrusted by the radical wing of his party, and disrespected by the rest. And that's just the House. The Senate Republicans consider him a clown, at least the ones who like him, and everyone in both chambers is terrified that his inability to control the crazies in his Republican caucus is destroying the party.
And yet, he holds on, standing in front of a different press podium every day looking like a deer caught in the headlights and making one ludicrous statement after another, usually contradicting the ludicrous statement he made 24 hours earlier. Why?
What kind of masochist would do that? What could he be getting from being Speaker-of-the-House-in-name-only? The larger office, the bigger staff, the preferential seating in the capitol dining room can't possibly make up for the fact that everyone regards you as a gigantic tool. Maybe like Bush and Cheney, he thinks history will be kinder to him than we're all being right now, but if that's the case, he's delusional as well as incompetent.
Although the evidence indicates that his capacity for abuse is limitless, I have to think that at some point even John Boehner will say enough is enough. He'll put the continuing resolution on the floor for a vote followed shortly by a clean vote on raising the debt ceiling and then he'll turn to his Republican caucus and say "take this job and shove it!". There simply isn't enough booze or tranquilizers in the world to bring about any other outcome.