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George Stephanopoulos asked House Minority Leader John Boehner about their hilariously apt choice to embrace as a party slogan a trademarked slogan for an anti-depressant. Boehner seems to think that claiming that the GOP is the party of change will somehow resonate with voters and make them forget that the change they are seeking (if those special elections are any indication, and I think they are) is from the gridlock, corruption, collusion and overall incompetence of a decade-long Republican majoritym, a fact that George Stephanopoulos never sees fit to point out. (h/t Rico in the comments)

Boehner holds up the rather sickly carrot of a Republican energy policy that he claims will lower gas prices. A neat trick that will be, considering that Republican coddling of oil companies has resulted in the gas prices we see today with the threat of double that by the end of the summer. But Boehner thinks we should rely on the Republicans.

Riiiiiiiggggghhhhht.

Transcripts below the fold:

STEPHANOPOULOS: The Democrats are having some fun at your expense this week, because they look at your slogan, "Change You Deserve," and say that's a slogan for Effexor, an antidepressant.

Here was Congressman Steny Hoyer, your counterpart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. STENY H. HOYER, D-MD.: "Change you deserve," of course, is a trademark for an antidepressant. (LAUGHTER) It does have side effects. It can make you sick. Eighty-two percent of Americans have indicated they're sick and tired of the policies that have been pursued by the Bush-Boehner administration. (END VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANOPOULOS: Shouldn't you have seen that coming?

BOEHNER: Listen, I could have used an antidepressant last week, I can tell you. But that's got nothing to do with the job that we have to do to show the American people that we can deliver a real change here in Washington. And I think our members and our candidates are going to be prepared, this fall, to do just that.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But how do you do it, then? You've got Democratic majorities in both the House and the Senate. President Bush -- you've been opposed to him on the farm bill. It doesn't seem like the issues that you're talking about, right now, that he's going to have the kind of...

(CROSSTALK)

BOEHNER: George, he's not on the ballot.

BOEHNER: You want to keep looking in the past. We need to look ahead. John McCain...

STEPHANOPOULOS: So President Bush is the past.

BOEHNER: ... appeals to almost all Republicans, a broad swath of independents and conservative Democrats. John McCain at the top of the ticket will help us. But we also have to show as Republicans in Congress that we can really deliver for the American people.

STEPHANOPOULOS: But how do you do that?

BOEHNER: We've got to work hard. And when my members want to moan and groan, I understand it. The things haven't been real happy for them, losing three special elections. But we all have to look in the mirror. We all have to decide, what are we going to do today, in order to show the American people that we're serious about doing the

kinds of things that...

STEPHANOPOULOS: And what's the number one thing you'll do coming out of that meeting on Tuesday, to show that the Republican caucus in the House has changed?

BOEHNER: I think what we've got to do Tuesday and Wednesday is to deliver our energy policy. Here's what we would do if the American people would honor us with the majority. We're going to deliver a real energy policy that will reduce gas prices.