Boehner says Obama can't run on economic record

[April 18, 2012]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker John Boehner (BAY'-nur) says President Barack Obama can't run for re-election on his economic record so his campaign will "pull out every bogey man that they can."

The Ohio Republican tells CBS News that he and Obama were close to a deal to break the budget stalemate when Obama "lost his courage."

Boehner says he agreed to raise revenue by overhauling the tax code and Obama initially accepted changes in entitlement programs. Instead, the speaker says, Obama ended up advocating higher tax rates for the wealthy.

Boehner says he believes former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney is well prepared for the general election "and will appeal to more than half of America." He predicts Obama "is going to make the election about anything other than his failed economic policies."

[Associated Press]

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