John Boehner's idea of a plan for leading the House can be found here (.pdf).It is a 37-page exposition on leadership (which I found very fascinating as a person who is interested in the field of leadership studies) but found it lacking in heft. The last ten pages were really all I needed to see the basic framework of what kind of Majority Leader Boehner would make. What I really wanted to see was more plan of action and less office pep talk.
Bohner's announcement has been called a "Ms. America speech" and this wasn't a very impressive follow-up effort. Jonah Goldberg's questions might have given us more insight in what to really expect:
MISS AMERICA SPEECHES FOR MAJORITY LEADER [Jonah Goldberg]It's not good when you are being mocked this early in a race by the likes of Jonah...
I like this idea. They should be forced to answer questions like, "If you have one message for the whole world, what would it be?" Or "What would you put in a time capsule?" "If you had to be an animal, what animal would it be and why?"
Coming up with the right strengths and weaknesses of the Republicans in the House is not that difficult...and Bohner demonstrates a clear command of that material. He's definitely talking about the right issues.
He just seems to be wanting to wait for a consensus before committing to action...and that isn't leadership at all.
I expected more.
1/10 Update
George Will is in Boehner's corner though, that has to count for something...Mark's Remarks
All I have seen here actually makes me think less of Mr. Boehner as a leader. Great sales pitcher and also seems to know how to turn a phrase, but not anything weighty in terms of real plans for leadership. Oh, how I wish Pence had jumped in with both feet to run!
