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With the least productive Congress in history after a series of manufactured fiscal crises, an inability to stop a sequester which both Republicans and Democrats think is dumb, 37 unsuccessful votes to repeal Obamacare, a regular question for Washington is this: Is John Boehner good at his job? On Tuesday, Politico's Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen say no, not really. Boehner is leading from behind in the House, they say, refusing to engage in talks with President Obama on anything, not even the budget. "His style, in short, is not lean in," Politico says. "Or lean on. It’s lean back — and wait." This is only the latest of many Grand Theories of John Boehner that attempt to explain why he, like Obama, can't use a Jedi mind meld to make conservative Republicans do what he wants. Most theorists agree that Boehner's job is really hard. They differ on whether he makes the most of it.

John Boehner is a wimp. It's not that Boehner is ineffective at wielding power. It's that he doesn't even like doing it. "He clearly likes power but doesn’t get the charge most others do about actually using it, VandeHei and Allen write. "He would much rather drink wine with members at night than twist their arms in the daytime. This can make him look, well, weak. Or, at best, like a bystander in the House he runs." Boehner himself gave Politico evidence for this. National Republicans think they desperately need to pass immigration reform so Latino voters will be more open to voting Republican. And Republicans now have a new tool to attack Obama with: a trio of bureaucratic scandals. But Boehner thinks this will make it harder to pass immigration reform, because Americans will be less likely to trust government to police the border. "When people see these abuses, when they see these problems, it just confirms in their mind that their skepticism is well-founded," Boehner told Politico. "So, it will make it harder."