ABC asks Boehner if Gutknecht stands for "retreat in the face of adversity

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/TheNote/story?id=156238&page=2

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Asked if Congressman Gutknecht stands for "retreat in the face of adversity," as Boehner had accused the Democrats, or whether Boehner had "oversimplified the distinction between the parties on this issue," the chain-smoking Dean Martin look-alike said: "No, I think the distinction that I outlined is clear."

Boehner went on to say: "Is it difficult? Yes. But I think that the violence that we see underscores the kind of progress that's amazing."

To which Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider tells ABC News: "Once again Mr. Boehner is confusing the war on terror with the war in Iraq. The American people, Democrats, and now even some Republicans understand that the war in Iraq has not made us safer, has not made our military stronger, has damaged America's reputation in the world, and has hindered our fight against terrorism. Iraq is a mess, Osama bin Laden is still free, the Iranians are going nuclear, and the Middle East is exploding — that's the Republican definition of progress in the region? No wonder the American people want a new direction."