Mr Boehner, an otherwise persistent critic of the President, said yesterday the Obama administration had "handled a very difficult situation about as well as it could be handled".But he expressed surprise that the US intelligence community did not have a better feel for what was happening in Egypt earlier.
Mr Boehner's comments came as the White House moved to sharpen its message on the need for democratic change in Egypt following confusing signals within Mr Obama's administration.The New York Times reported yesterday that Mr Obama was "seething" during the 18-day stand-off in Cairo because of contradictory messages about whether he supported demonstrators or the now-ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
While Mr Obama pressed for transition immediately, he reportedly believed he was being portrayed wrongly as seeking to protect Mr Mubarak when former US ambassador to Egypt Frank Wisner, a special US envoy, said in Munich that the Egyptian dictator should remain in office."It did not help that his Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr Wisner's key backer, was publicly warning that any credible transition would take time," the Times said.
Mr Obama is known for being usually calm and composed under pressure. He responded by directing Vice-President Joe Biden to take a tougher line with Mr Mubarak's newly appointed deputy, Omar Suleiman. He also directed White House press secretary Robert Gibbs to spell out clearly that the US President wanted change now .Since Mr Mubarak's exit, Mr Obama has spoken to foreign leaders including British Prime Minister David Cameron, Jordan's King Abdullah and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Tom Donilon, who replaced Jim Jones as national security adviser, also spoke out against Iran's government for stifling the opposition Green movement's planned protest of solidarity with Egyptians.Mr Boehner's support for Mr Obama on Egypt yesterday contrasted with Republican Party figures who could be presidential candidates next year. Former Minnesota governor Tim Pawlenty claimed the White House position had been "nearly incoherent". Rick Santorum and Mike Huckabee criticised Mr Obama for walking away from Mr Mubarak as a long-time ally.
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