J
ohn Boehner tells Barack Obama to delay Congress jobs speech
Barack Obama has provoked a furious row with Republicans after demanding to address Congress at the same time as the candidates vying to replace him in 2012 are due to hold a televised debate in California

The bold move to make a speech about jobs before a rare joint session of Congress took Republicans by surprise and prompted an unprecedented rebuff from John Boehner, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

White House aides said they had cleared the time of the speech next Wednesday with Mr Boehner but the Speaker's office said he was not consulted. Mr Boehner said there was not enough time to conduct a security sweep of the chamber and requested Mr Obama consider Thursday instead.

The argument, conducted in an exchange of public letters, marked a new low in relations between the White House and Republicans on Capitol Hill following the acrimonious negotiations over raising the federal debt ceiling.

Mr Obama's planned speech appears essentially to be an attempt to relaunch Mr Obama's presidency in an address to Congress while at the same time overshadowing the Republicans who want to replace him in the Oval Office.

It was unclear last night how the impasse would be broken. Mr Obama could agree to move the speech to Thursday or instead stick to Wednesday and deliver it from the White House or some other venue
He's a nice fellow

Has he America's interests at heart.....or his own?