Boehner on Trust of Obama: 'Absolutely'

Harry Reid might inspire John Boehner to some colorful language, but that's not the case with the speaker's relationship with President Obama, he tells ABC this morning, saying that he "absolutely" trusts the president. "The president and I, as I have made very clear, have a very good relationship," he said. "We're open with each other. We're honest with each other. But we're trying to bridge some big differences." But before things got too touchy-feely, Boehner said Obama needs to get on board with balancing the budget over the next decade, saying that if he doesn't, "not sure we're gonna get very far." Other highlights, as per Politico:

• On gay marriage, in light of Rob Portman's about-face: "Rob's a great friend and a long-time ally. And I appreciate that he's decided to change his views on this. Listen, I believe that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. It's what I grew up with. It's what I believe. It's what my church teaches me. And I can't imagine that position would ever change."
• On the GOP getting its message across: "There's nothing wrong with the principles of our party. But Republicans have not done as an effective job as we should in terms of talking about our principles in terms that average people can appreciate. Why balancing the budget, as an example, would be good for American families. We've gotta do a better job of helping people understand what our principles are in terms that they deal with every day."

(More John Boehner stories.)