Boehner on State of the Union: ‘It was OK’

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was tight-lipped in his first public comments since President Obama’s State of the Union Tuesday night.

Asked to rate the president’s speech, Boehner simply said, “It was OK.” Asked to name areas where the president and he could work together, he said, “Cutting spending.”

{mosads}The new Speaker offered little beyond his office’s official statement, which was released following Obama’s address. Boehner protested against new targeted spending Obama wants to pass in areas like education and infrastructure.

“Unfortunately, even as he talked about the need for fiscal discipline, President Obama called for more ‘stimulus’ spending without making a commitment to the cuts and reforms the American people are demanding,” he said. 

Boehner also brushed aside concerns about divisions within the GOP sparked by House Tea Party Caucus Chairwoman Michele Bachmann’s (R-Minn.) decision to deliver her own State of the Union response after the official one given by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (Wis.)

“Well, I think all members of the House and the Senate responded to the speech in many forms,” he said. “The more the merrier.”

He added that he did not watch Bachmann’s speech, which was shown on the Tea Party Express website and CNN.

Boehner, who was speaking at an event in support of renewing the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship program, said he appeciated the president mentioning his roots as an example of the American dream.

“I appreciate the president’s mention last night,” he said. “A lot of us here have had a chance at the American dream. I think the point we’re making that every person in America ought to have the same opportunity.”