Boehner baits Gibbs with Twitter question on earmark moratorium

Presumptive House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) seized an opportunity to direct attention to the earmark debate on Monday when he participated in a Twitter Q&A session sponsored by the White House.

The Q&A, known as "First Question" and meant to connect everyday Twitter users with Obama press secretary Robert Gibbs, has avoided heady political conflicts since it premiered on Oct. 28.

Boehner, who is one of the first politicians to participate, ignored that premise on Monday when he chose to highlight the split between President Obama and congressional Democrats on earmarks.

"If POTUS supports an 'outright ban' on earmarks," Boehner asked Gibbs, "will he call on Leaders Pelosi and Reid to do the same?"

The message was widely retweeted by congressional Republicans, and prompted Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.) to remark "Good for the goose."

Gibbs will respond to questions of his choosing in a YouTube video later Monday afternoon. In past segments, he discussed the purpose of the president's recent trip to India and Obama's secret service codename.

Questions from users Monday hit on the new START arms reduction treaty, the state of affairs in Afghanistan and the prospects for immigration reform. Read more at the Twitter hashtag #1q, which assembles users' questions in one place.

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