Second look at Boehner’s Plan B?

Since the election, House Speaker John Boehner has emerged as that Washington rarity, the adult in charge. To keep the country from plunging over the fiscal cliff, he has dealt with a president uninterested in compromise while leading a GOP House caucus understandably reluctant to concede much to that president…

As of this writing, Republican leaders plan a House vote on this imperfect measure Thursday. So far the White House and congressional Democrats have rejected “Plan B,” despite Democratic support for exactly this concept in May of this year. Talk about hypocrisy.

It’s impossible to know how this Washington drama will end, but Speaker Boehner has played a weak hand adroitly. He’s been reasonable, even creative, and so far kept his caucus behind him. He will rightly be judged on what he eventually agrees (or doesn’t agree) to. But so far he’s shown leadership that has been lacking elsewhere in Washington—especially at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.