The Republicans' Working-Class Hero
House Minority Leader John Boehner grew up in a working-class family of Roman Catholic Democrats. He tended bar at a family-owned pub to pull himself up from blue-collar roots to become a millionaire businessman and the most powerful member of a resurgent GOP. During the campaign he urged voters to stop President Barack Obama's "job-killing agenda" by electing Republicans who will cut federal spending, extend tax cuts, repeal the Democrats' health-care law, and create a more business-friendly environment. Now, his challenge will be to help his party deliver while keeping incoming Tea Party members in sync with the Republican Establishment's agenda.

Boehner needs some legislative victories to avoid Obama branding the Republicans as obstructionists in the 2012 general election.