On the House (memoir)
By John Boehner
Status: Finished on 01/07/2022
Rating: 3/5
Summary
This memoir focuses on John Boehner’s work in Congress, and jumps around. But here’s a linear narrative of his life.
Boehner’s Life
Boehner was born in 1949 in Ohio to a Catholic family. His father was a bar tender, and he was one of 12 siblings. It was fourteen people living in a 2-bedroom house, so they slept in 3-layer bunk beds. He started working in his father’s bar at age 8. He played football in college for coach Gerry Faust, who eventually would become the coach of Notre Dame. Then, he attended Xavier college, and graduated with a degree in business.
He was hired as a salesman at a small company selling plastics. He was successful and eventually ended up being president of the firm. He moved into a nice house in a higher-end community, where he was encouraged to run for president of the Homeowner’s Association. He did so, and this triggered a progression of office runs that led him to the House of Representatives in 1991. All this time, he had never left Ohio.
During his first-term, Boehner drew attention to House banking scandal and was loudly critical of other House perks. This initially alienated him with some of the other members, but Boehner’s light, upbeat, and friendly personality eventually won most people over. From the start, he was interested in leadership. He held various leadership positions in the 1990s and 2000s, and became Speaker of the House in 2011.
He was a pragmatist who believed in making deals and being chummy with everyone. As the country moved into a more polarized era, he no longer fit-in with the changing Republican party. This led him to retire from the House in 2015. In Boehner’s view, both parties are increasingly filled with lunatics, a label he applies to both the Tea Party caucus and AOC’s Squad. He refers to his Speakership as being the “mayor of crazytown.” He thinks the craziness is a consequence of trends in the media environment. In describing this, he more frequently alludes to Sean Hannity than to social media.
Boehner’s personality
Boehner is folksy. He keeps it simple. He admires straight-shooters and dislikes jackasses. His strengths are his work ethic, unflappability, lack of neuroticism, lack of ego, and warmth. He likes most people and is easy to get along with. He takes the time to study the issues and is knowledgeable, but he doesn’t pretend to be a genius. He is not above political maneuvering and doesn’t believe in hard and fast rules. He is candid and mostly honest. He believes in decorum and professionalism. More than anything, he seems to love golf, cigarettes, and wine. He is private about his personal life.
On his Big Five, I’d guess that he is low neuroticism, low openness, high conscientiousness, high extraversion, and high agreeableness.
Boehner’s interactions
The most entertaining parts of the book describe Boehner’s interactions and candid opinions about other public figures. Here’s a table, ranked from most positive, to most negative in their portrayal:
| Person | Boehner’s Perspective |
|---|---|
| Gerald Ford | Ford was a role model. He was a great Congressional leader with humble aspirations (e.g. he only ever wanted to be speaker). He was also profane on the golf course. |
| Paul Ryan | Ryan is a smart, hardworking, talented, and earnest guy. He is also a health nut, who was aggravated that Boehner stunk up the Speaker’s office by smoking so much. |
| Joe Biden | Biden is unpretentious and personable. He is a dealmaker who maintains friendships across the aisle. He is generally looking to help the American people. |
| John McCain | McCain was a hero, a great legislator, and a friend. McCain made some goofy decisions during his 2008 presidential run. In particular, McCain made a fool of himself when we suspended his campaign to focus on the financial crisis. McCain’s ignorance about economics was apparent to everyone. McCain was never the same after that campaign. |
| Mitch McConnell | McConnell is distant and tight-lipped. He never wants to talk about anything but work. He is a brilliant strategist and politician. Boehner thinks McConnell’s methods are optimized for the Senate, and would not work as well in the House. |
| Nancy Pelosi | Pelosi is an effective leader of her party. She is ruthless to her underlings, and never shies away from a fight. As Speaker during the Trump administration, she violated some norms relating to decorum. |
| Newt Gingrich | Gingrich is a friend, but was not always an effective leader. He acted like an absent-minded professor, always coming up with ideas but often lacking follow through. Some of the ideas, like the Contract with America, were really good. Gingrich was condescending towards members and often wouldn’t even say “hi” as he walked by. He was often manipulated by the Clintons, and wore some of the ugliest ties anyone had ever seen. |
| Barack Obama | Obama was a fierce negotiator and brilliant communicator with the public. He was cold and sometimes even unkind. Boehner was often out-maneuvered by Obama. When Obama was in a position of power, he wouldn’t even give Boehner “a crumb” off the negotiating table. Boehner thinks that Obama sometimes negotiated in bad faith. For example, he thinks Obama never really wanted to make a deal on immigration reform. |
| Donald Trump | Trump built and ran some truly fantastic golf courses. Early on, Boehner noticed how nasty Trump was to the people who worked for him. As a political figure, Trump is a manifestation of everything that has gone wrong with the Republican party. |
| Ted Cruz | Ted Cruz is a pompous jerk who thinks he has all the answers. All of his actions are motivated by transparent self-interest. The only thing he cares about is being president. |
My Reaction
I enjoyed this book. I came away liking Boehner and appreciating his candor. It was fun hearing his take on his different relationships with high-profile figures. Generally, I came away feeling more positive about the institution of Congress and the intentions of our lawmakers.