Boehner slams Obama for 'failing to lead' By Michael O'Brien and Molly K. Hooper - 07/01/10 12:20 PM ET House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday slammed President Barack Obama for "failing to lead" on the economy and other issues facing the United States.
The top House Republican excoriated the president a day after he, during a town hall meeting in Wisconsin, criticized Boehner and other top Republicans for their approach toward Wall Street reform and the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
"For someone who asked to be held to a higher standard, President Obama spends an awful lot of time making excuses and whining about others," Boehner said at his weekly press conference. "The American people want leadership from this White House, not childish partisanship."
Boehner said that Obama should be focused on issues such as the oil spill and cutting spending, not on a metaphor that Boehner used for Democrats' remedy for the financial crisis.
“Why aren’t you focused on stopping the oil spill in the Gulf, why aren’t you focused on reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, why aren’t you focused on cutting spending now, why aren’t you focused on creating jobs, what about the country, Mr. President?” Boehner asked.
Boehner found himself on the defensive this week over remarks he made on raising the retirement age for Social Security, as well as his argument likening Democrats' Wall Street reform plans as a solution to the financial crisis to using a nuclear weapon against an ant.
Obama on Wednesday in Racine, Wis., said Boehner and other top Republicans were "out of touch" with voters.
"That's right," Obama said. "He compared the financial crisis to an ant. The same financial crisis that led to the loss of nearly 8 million jobs. The same crisis that cost people their homes and their lives savings."
But Boehner denied making such a comparison.
The top-ranked GOP lawmaker said he “was not referencing the financial crisis at all. What I was referring to was what it would take to fix the problem because fixing the problem would have meant doing something about reforming Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.”
Boehner argued Obama's signature $787 billion stimulus plan had failed and blasted Democrats for having failed to pass a budget or other key measures before the Fourth of July recess. The Senate broke last night until July 12, and the House has little more action of substance planned for the week.
"With the president failing to lead, Democrats here on Capitol Hill are rushing out of town to watch fireworks and eat macaroni salad instead of getting the American people's work done," Boehner said.
