It's the Republican way. Whenever they fail, they always blame it on the other side. So it is with Speaker (maybe Former Speaker?) John Boehner, who is now refusing to engage in any one-on-one negotiations with President Obama ever again, no way, no how, he's done forever.

Via The Hill:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is signaling that at least one thing will change about his leadership during the 113th Congress: he’s telling Republicans he is done with private, one-on-one negotiations with President Obama.

During both 2011 and 2012, the Speaker spent weeks shuttling between the Capitol and the White House for meetings with the president in the hopes of striking a grand bargain on the deficit.

Those efforts ended in failure, leaving Boehner feeling burned by Obama and, at times, isolated within his conference.

In closed-door meetings since leaving the “fiscal cliff” talks two weeks ago, lawmakers and aides say the Speaker has indicated he is abandoning that approach for good and will return fully to the normal legislative process in 2013 — seeking to pass bills through the House that can then be adopted, amended or reconciled by the Senate.

"He is recommitting himself and the House to what we've done, which is working through regular order and letting the House work its will,” an aide to the Speaker told The Hill.

Personally, I think this is a good thing, but it is funny that Boehner announces it like somehow President Obama made him take that crappy Plan B bill to the floor, or that President Obama somehow twisted his arm into putting the Senate compromise bill out for a clean vote.

I guess President Obama also forced him to walk away from the table when they were just short of a deal. Twice.

In some ways, this bodes well for the debt ceiling vote. If Boehner stays true to his promise, he'll put a clean bill out and let the House debate and vote on it, with no negotiating, which is what the President has said needs to happen.

Or maybe Eric Cantor will oust him. Either way, he looks like the petulant fool that he is.