Rep. Boehner Cast As 'Man Who Would Be Speaker'

DON GONYEA: This is Don Gonyea in Ohio, where GOP leader John Boehner has been out telling Republicans to keep up the pressure right through Election Day.

JOHN BOEHNER: So, it's real simple: We have to win these races one at a time, one at a time all around the country.

GONYEA: Unidentified Man #1: The next speaker of the House, John Boehner.

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BOEHNER: Unidentified Man #3: Speaker John Boehner.

BOEHNER: Unidentified Man #5: The next speaker of the House is John Boehner.

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GONYEA: Unidentified Group: Fire Pelosi, fire Pelosi...

GONYEA: Boehner's stump speech is short, usually seven minutes or less. He points to the health care law as an example of the worst of the Obama administration and the current Congress. And in each speech, this one in the tiny village of Hanoverton in east Ohio, he recalls something President Obama told Republicans as they fought over healthcare.

BOEHNER: He said, and I'll quote: "That's what elections are for." Well, Mr. President, you're right. That's what elections are for. And on Tuesday, the American people, I think, are going to send a very loud message to Washington - a very loud message.

GONYEA: Boehner is often described as an old school Republican. The jokes he tells on the stump only reinforce that.

BOEHNER: Remember when Ronald Reagan was President? We had Bob Hope, we had Johnny Cash. Think about where we are today. We've got President Obama, but we have no hope, and we have no cash. God bless all of you.

GONYEA: But at Boehner's events, I asked people about the possibility of compromise with the White House. In Hanoverton, 27-year-old Dan Jenkins is carrying his 11-month-old daughter. He stops to talk.

DAN JENKINS: I pretty much would like President Obama to move a little bit, but I don't necessarily see that happening. So we're going to have to stick to our guns here and hold our ground.

GONYEA: But if the president's willing to budge and come to the middle?

JENKINS: It better be more towards the right than towards the left to see John Boehner move.

GONYEA: In Zanesville, 44-year-old Debbie Pettit was wearing one of those fire Pelosi t-shirts. She says she's been laid off for three years from a manufacturing job. Her husband is working. Pettit says she'd love to see the President and John Boehner find a way to work together. She says the country needs that. But she doesn't expect much.

DEBBIE PETTIT: Mr. Obama is not going to work with the Republicans at all. I really don't think he will. He's too liberal.

GONYEA: There's been a lot of talk comparing that big GOP year to what could happen this year. Boehner was also a House member back then. Pryce says there's something important to Boehner to keep in mind now, with the GOP anticipating another big day tomorrow.

DEBORAH PRYCE: It is not a mandate for Republicans. It's a mandate to bring this country back to a smaller government, less spending, listening to people - actually listening to what they - and this is their voice, and they are angry as hell that nobody's been listening to them. And we're going to see that on Tuesday.

GONYEA: DON GONYEA, NPR News, Columbus

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INSKEEP: And remember, you can listen to live election coverage Tuesday night on your local NPR station at npr.org and on your smartphone.

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INSKEEP: You're listening to MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.