The House Speaker spoke about the theme of Rich’s column at his morning press briefing. “Listen, the American people know that we can’t continue to borrow and spend our way to prosperity,” Boehner said. “They understand that we’ve got to tighten the belt. And I’m hopeful that the President has listened to the American people. I’m hopeful that the word ‘investment’ really isn’t more ‘stimulus’ spending and a bigger government here in Washington.”
Boehner also noted that he is “excited” about the Ryan response. “So, I’m looking forward to listening to what the President has to say tonight. We’re excited about [Rep.] Paul Ryan giving our response,” he said. “Paul is someone who’s got a lot of experience, well-versed in our budget problems. And someone who I think can outline pretty clearly to the American people that this amount of debt that we’re dealing with will not only create big problems for our kids and grandkids, but is hurting job creation in America today.”