John Boehner: Free at last

The public transformation was immediate.

Ordinarily, John Boehner’s news conferences as Speaker were all boilerplate; like there was a circuit board under his shirt. But that’s how powerful politicians tend to speak. They have to hammer home those talking points.

Then on Sunday, Boehner sat down with John Dickerson on “Face the Nation” after announcing he’s quitting and suddenly, he was unplugged from the Matrix. He was totally free.

He was asked about a government shutdown.

“In four days, the government runs out of money. Is there going to be a shutdown?

“No.”

No! And on the Tea Party members, who still think government shutdowns are an act of courage.

“Are they unrealistic about what can be done in government?” Dickerson asked. “That’s the…”

“Absolutely,” Boehner said. “They’re not realistic. But you know the Bible says, ‘beware of false prophets.'”

“Is Ted Cruz a false prophet?” Dickerson asked.

“I’ll refer you to my remark at a fundraiser I made in August in Steamboat Springs, Colorado,” Boehner said.

On Wednesday, August 26, he referred to Senator Cruz as an (expletive.)

Come on, I think the kids can take it.

He called him a jackass for shutting down the government and trying to make it look like an act of courage.

“It’s easy to have the courage to do what you can’t do, but to have the courage to do what you can do &#8212 just go do it.”

Boehner was also deeply affected by the Pope’s visit, and especially when Francis took his arm.

“He pulled me right into him and said, ‘Please pray for me.’ Who am I to pray for the Pope? But I did.”

So yes, we’ve all seen how Washington seems to lobotomize public figures, but Sunday’s interview shows that the process appears to be reversible. All you have to do is quit.