FULL SPECTRUM CULTURE

Brendan Miniter interviews the new House Majority leader, John Boehner, and it sounds promising:

What can we expect from Mr. Boehner now? Judging from his record and from his recent statements, federal entitlements will come in for a close inspection. Far-reaching reforms probably aren’t possible before November. But until now Republicans haven’t started laying the groundwork in the House to make those reforms possible in the future. Mr. Boehner could use the president’s call for a commission to study Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security reforms as an opportunity to begin that work. More immediately, one idea likely to reappear on the Hill is something Mr. Bush mentioned in the State of the Union–giving the president the power to strike earmarks from spending bills. The Supreme Court struck down the Line Item Veto Act in 1998, so Congress would to find a way of granting the president that power that passes constitutional muster–or amend the Constitution. But Mr. Boehner thinks it’s worth doing. After all, as he told me, the line-item veto used to be “part of our mantra.”

If all that Mr. Boehner stays true to his resolutions and can convince his colleagues to follow him, the Republicans will be able to show that they can indeed continue to be trusted with the majority of congress and the governing of the nation.