"It was certainly a moving event, but seeing him sob and gasp for air was sort of off-putting," [View All]

[Amerigo Vespucci]

John Boehner Bawls Through Congressional Award Ceremony

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/16/boehner-crying-congressional-award-ceremony_n_1098254.html

Boehner was one of several Hill leaders who gave remarks at an event honoring astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin with the Congressional Gold Medal. The ceremony marked the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon.

"Neil Armstrong was once asked: Why did you, this one man, choose to speak for all when you set foot on the lunar surface? As it turns out, there was no script, there were no notes," Boehner said. "When the moment came, Neil's thoughts turned to the 400,000 people who worked on the project.... He said he knew 'it would be a big something for all those folks and a lot of others who weren't even involved in the project.' So it was."

And then, as Boehner lined up to present Armstrong with his medal in front of the crowd, the weeping began.

An attendee at the ceremony said Boehner's strong emotional reaction was startling. "It was certainly a moving event, but seeing him sob and gasp for air was sort of off-putting," said this attendee.