1102 Boehner Becomes Speaker of the House

Ohio Republican John Boehner will grab the reins from Democrat Nancy Pelosi and become the next Speaker of the House of Representatives. Boehner is a conservative Republican who has already signaled he is not about compromise. His leadership will contribute greatly to a series of deadlocked sessions on bills such as stimulus spending, healthcare, former President Bush's tax cut for wealthy Americans and businesses, as well as the war in Afghanistan. Openly gay military personnel will also come back as a big deal. Many fear Washington will come to a standstill at a time when the country needs movement and action to pull the economy further away from a double-dip recession. Americans are emphatically divided over which direction the country should take - almost 50-50 - and the hardball disagreements will cause both parties and Americans to suffer setbacks that could derail the slow, doubtful recovery. Several key Republicans have made it publicly clear they have an agenda to make President Obama a "one term president." These statements, made so far in advance of the next presidential election, send a signal to Democrats some key Republicans are not willing to stand back and allow the current president to do his job and work together to get past the economy disaster.- Preston Brady III reporting for MobileTribune.com