Boehner the Gymnast

No, I'm not implying that I want to see Boehner do a pommel horse routine in a leotard. What can I say? It just comes with the heterosexuality. Instead, the title refers to Boehner's unmatched flipping ability.

Republican Majority Leader Boehner has had what we call an "evolving position" on whether or not he told Hastert of the problem with Foley. First, he said:

House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) told The Washington Post last night that he had learned this spring of some "contact" between Foley and a 16-year-old page. Boehner said he told House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), and that Hastert assured him "we're taking care of it."

Then it became:

Boehner later contacted The Post and said he could not remember whether he talked to Hastert.

Then there was the categorical denial:

Boehner strongly denied media reports late Friday night that he had informed Hastert of the allegations, saying "That is not true."

And now, via TPMMuckraker, Boehner has come full circle:

Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) this morning switched his position on the leader's culpability, telling a radio interviewer, "I believe I talked to the Speaker and he told me it had been taken care of."

(snip)

Rep. Tom Reynolds (R-NY), head of the House GOP's political arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, has also implicated Hastert. "I did what most people would do in a workplace," Reynolds said at a press conference last night, “I heard something, I took it to my supervisor.”

And Hastert's sphere continues to slide. I don't see how this get's Boehner off the hook, though.