That harsh critique came from Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., Monday afternoon, ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress.
If the president was looking for support from lawmakers on Capitol Hill for his Mideast peace proposal he sure won't find it from Mr. Cantor. As the only Jewish lawmaker in the Republican conference, and an ardent supporter of Israel, Mr. Cantor appears to be living up to his pledge to "serve as a check" on any policy that would threaten a strong U.S.-Israeli relationship.
"The president has to step up and lead," Mr. Cantor charged. "Responding to pressure from Palestinians and the rest of the world is not leading."
Cantor also used the leadership theme to counter claims that Rep. Paul Ryan's, R-Wisc., budget plan is hurting Republicans' standing in the polls. Fiscal conservatives hail the Ryan plan as the only plan put forward that seriously tackles the federal debt and deficit spending, but it also has received a lot of flak from seniors worried about Medicare and Social Security.
Cantor said Republicans have demonstrated leadership by offering a bold plan. He also added that he expects any serious Republican White House hopeful to fully "embrace" the formula outlined in the plan passed by the GOP-controlled House. That includes the prescription for Medicare and Social Security. (Someone should have sent the memo to Newt Gingrich before his "Meet the Press" interview.)
Mr. Cantor then added fuel to the nascent fire to solicit Paul Ryan to run against Pres. Obama next year. "Sure, I'd like to see Ryan run."
Also on tap this week, expect House Republicans to roll out Part 2 of their mandate in the "Pledge to America".
Mr. Cantor says they will unveil their "Growth Agenda" to go along with their spending reductions. He says the agenda will include tax reforms to make America more competitive as opposed to his description of the Democrats' plan: "more taxes and more government."