John Boehner on 60 Minutes: 'I'm an Emotional Guy'

Next speaker of the House chokes up, again, during interview
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 13, 2010 7:23 AM CST

John Boehner started off his 60 Minutes interview last night talking about his issues with President Obama—but footage of his "Hell no!" defiance quickly gave way to footage of what interviewer Lesley Stahl called "the sob heard 'round the world" on election night. "I was trying to talk about the fact that I've been chasing the American dream my whole career," Boehner told Stahl, as he started to tear up again. "I think you probably found out by now, I'm a pretty emotional guy. There's just some things that trigger real emotions."

Boehner talked about his humble beginnings working at his father's bar as a 10-year-old, the second oldest of 12 siblings. He grew up in a family of Kennedy Democrats, but became a Republican after making millions in business and getting frustrated with high taxes. (Even so, he said he was still "really good friends" with Ted Kennedy.) But he insisted that while he wants to "work together" and find "common ground," he "rejects the word" compromise. Click for more from Boehner's 60 Minutes interview, including an additional web segment all about his crying.
(More John Boehner stories.)

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