Boehner: We Must 'Reengage' With Pakistan

John Boehner does not want to use Osama bin Laden’s death as an excuse to end the war in Afghanistan or change the US relationship with Pakistan. “At this moment in time, we should reengage and strengthen our relationship with Pakistan, not walk away from it,” he said on Face the Nation today. “We have hundreds of billions of dollars that we’ve spent in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. We’ve lost thousands of lives. This is not the time to just walk away from the fight.” More from the Sunday dial, via Politico:

• Boehner also said he’s “ready to cut the deal today” on raising the debt ceiling, but President Obama is “really not serious” about tackling the country’s fiscal problems. Boehner wants everything, including changes to Medicare and Medicaid, “on the table” during discussions—“except raising taxes.”

• Newt Gingrich called Obama the “most successful food stamp president in history” Friday, but today on Meet the Press he rejected accusations of racism, pointing out that one out of every six Americans receives food stamps: “What I said is factually true.”
• Ron Paul insists the US should have informed Pakistan that it knew where bin Laden was hiding, and relied on the Pakistani government to arrest the terrorist leader, he maintained on Fox News Sunday. He also said, while discussing his views on limited government, that he would not support federal aid for Mississippi flood victims.
• Also on Fox News Sunday, Mike Huckabee said he “would have made a fine president,” but that he is “at peace” with his “very personal, very intimate, … spiritual decision" not to run.

(More Mike Huckabee stories.)