Boehner Tears

So the incoming US Speaker of the House, John Boehner (R-OH), cried on a recent interview on 60 Minutes. Gail Collins at the NYT, among others, make all the obvious points and give the guy a well deserved shellacking, all of which I heartily agree with. But the point that really intrigues me is whether or not he really means it, and if so, how on earth does he square it with what his actual voting record. I think to some extent this is the core of my fascination with American politics: how do people say one thing, yet vote in ways that run utterly counter to their stated interests and goals?

When asked why he choked up on election night, Boehner replied:

"Talking, trying to talk about the fact that I've been chasing the American dream my whole career," Boehner said.

"Some things, there are some things that are very difficult to talk about. Family, kids -- I can't go to a school anymore, I used to go to a lot of schools. You see all these little kids running around, can't talk about it," Boehner said. "Making sure that these kids have a shot at the American dream, like I did, is important."

Given that his twenty-year voting record appears to be largely devoid of sympathy for working class Americans, you would think that he would be suffering from some degree of cognitive dissonance at the very least.

But perhaps this is just the nature of the US political machine: vicious competition, enormous power and privilege for the victor, and an almost requisite sublimation of your originals goals in order to succeed. Certainly it wouldn't pay to think too hard outside the bubble of accepted thought or to let your mind ponder whether the general Republican orthodoxy was actually achieving what you "know" it is, out there in the real world.