The July 3 announcement by Alaska Governor Sarah Palin that she is resigning at the end of this month caught everyone by surprise, including Rep. John Boehner, the House minority leader and Miami County's U.S. Representative.
"I'm as confused about that as anybody," Boehner said during an hour-long interview Monday with the editorial staff of the Troy Daily News. He said he had a conversation this past Sunday with conservative political commentator Bill Kristol - "who knows her as well as anyone" - and Boehner said Kristol told him he was as surprised and confused as anyone.
Boehner said he supports Palin - the 2008 Republican vice-presidential candidate - but questions whether she could be a viable presidential candidate now, given her unexpected and bewildering
resignation and the ongoing issues surrounding her daughter, Bristol, an unwed teenage mother.
"I like her alot. But I think it will be very difficult for her to run in 2012 given everything's that's gone on the last nine months," he said, referencing to the ongoing drama regarding Bristol Palin, who gave birth to a son, Tripp, in late December, and the baby's father, Levi Johnston.
Johnston and Bristol Palin have broken up - with Bristol Palin going on a nationwide tour promoting chastity among teens - and Johnston has made the rounds of talk shows, at one point saying that Sarah Palin lied when she denied Johnston had ever lived with the Palin's.
So, with questions about Palin's viability as a presidential candidate, Boehner was asked about the possibility he would seek the office as a Republican presidential candidate. The House minority leader was emphatic in his response.
"Zero," he said, holding his thumb and forefinger in a circle, for emphasis.
"My goal is to take the gavel (as the majority leader of the U.S. House) out of Nancy's Pelosi's hands," Boehner said.
Boehner also said that while Mitt Romney may be one of the front runners in the field of Republican candidates, "there are an awful lot of qualified candidates out there. Somebody will emerge."
Interestingly, when asked what he saw himself doing three years from now, Boehner said, "I hope to be the Republican leader and the Speaker of the House." But when asked where he saw himself in seven years, he replied, "I can't see myself in the House ... I hope to be doing something else by then."
For more on the TDN interview with Rep. Boehner,
read Wednesday's print edition of the Troy Daily News.
