Softball practice in Boehner Land

By Dana Milbank
WashPost
Thursday, September 16, 2010;

The mood in Boehner Land is anxious.

On Wednesday morning, Speaker-in-Waiting John Boehner held his first Capitol Hill news conference since election handicappers began to predict with high confidence a Republican takeover of the House. The Ohio Republican was a bundle of nervous energy.

He let out an audible "oooh" when he saw the crowd awaiting him in the television studio. He licked his lips, checked his jacket button, and rolled his shoulders back. During his brief time on the podium, he checked the same jacket button no fewer than nine times and executed several additional lip licks and shoulder rolls.

The questioning of Boehner began at 10:27 a.m. Forty-three seconds later, a Republican leadership aide, Matt Lloyd, tried to put an end to it. "Last question!" he shouted.

Reporters only laughed at the young man. "Good try, boys," Boehner said to the staff.

(More here.)