So wonders PJM's Roger Simon. After accepting the gavel from outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi (be sure you check out yesterday's Captionfest!), Boehner gave a speech that has the righty blogosphere buzzing. Head below the jump for video of the speech and Simon's reaction.
In his speech today, John Boehner showed himself to be among the most impressive figures on our political landscape, and he did it by being that rarest of things in politics: a humble human being.
His opening ad-lib quieting thunderous applause – “It’s still just me” – should be an instructional moment in public behavior in our celebrity culture. Can you imagine Bill Clinton, Newt Gingrich, Barack Obama or even, alas, Sarah Palin saying such a thing with the authenticity Boehner clearly had at such a moment?
He spoke graciously for a brief twelve minutes – as compared with his predecessor Pelosi who spoke for thirteen before passing him the gavel. And unlike Pelosi, he spoke about us, the people, and very little about himself. (She spent the better part of the thirteen minutes listing her own accomplishments. But enough about Pelosi — let’s hope for a long time.) Boehner emphasized comity and civility, virtues the almost feel extinct in our society...
It’s clearly time for a little humility. No more Mr. Know-It-All, governing with a sense of entitlement out of all proportion to reality. Will Boehner be the Anti-Obma? Stranger things have happened.
Give us your thoughts on the speech.
