he spent a lot of it .
he promised a new era speaker of the house john boehner ( r - oh ) today delivered the following remarks to the opening session of the 112th congress .
no one republican member of congress wants to be the first to stop applauding the new speaker .
hard work and tough decisions will be required of the 112th congress .
the ashes remind us that life in all its forms is fragile – our time on this earth , fleeting .
“ we gather here today at a time of great challenges .
luckily , boehner did it for them .
 
boehner promised almost nothing at all .