On CNN yesterday, House minority leader John Boehner said the cost we've incurred in Iraq, both in dollars and in lives of our military men and women, are a "small price" to pay to defeat al qaeda.

Watch it:

As kos points out, there has been a conspicuous silence from Democrats on this. John Kerry is one exception. At Huffington Post, he writes eloquently:

Visit our wounded warriors at Walter Reed hospital and ask whether the price they paid was small. Talk to the mothers, fathers, husbands and wives of those who have been killed and ask them to measure the price of war. Young lives stopped short, children who won't have a mother or father there as they grow up, when they graduate, when they get married -- that loss is many things, but it is not small.

Where is Representative Boehner's apology? And where is an Iraq policy equal to our soldiers' tremedous sacrifice?

Now, Howard Dean has called Boehner out as well.

"House Republican Leader John Boehner's comments yesterday are deplorable and he should apologize immediately. Our brave men and women who have given their lives in service to our country and their families have made the ultimate sacrifice, and to say anything less is insulting to their memories and service. Republicans stubbornly refuse to acknowledge that their Iraq policy is a failure, our troops are mired in a civil war and we're not making the necessary political progress on the ground. Bohener's comments show how truly out of touch the Republicans are. The loss of a son or daughter is never a small price to pay, especially for a policy which was initiated by Republicans who misled the nation about why we are there. The war in Iraq must end. We need to bring our troops home."

Talking Points Memo is on the case. Will Boehner retract his remarks? Not unless there's pressure from the media and ultimately other Republicans. Bush needs to be asked to comment on what Boehner said, every single Republican presidential candidate as well. This guy needs to be radioactive. Boehner has taken a hardline pro-war stance selling such White House talking points as "the terrorists will follow us home" and "we fight them over there so we don't have to fight them here" with impunity. Today The Politico reports he's the guy the White House depends on to keep the GOP caucus together on Iraq since Bush has no credibility to do so. This statement has the potential to finally put a chink in Boehner's armor. Will other Democrats and the media step up?

Update [2007-9-13 19:10:8 by Todd Beeton]: Per TPM, DCCC chair Chris Van Hollen has now demanded that Boehner apologize.

“To belittle the sacrifice of more than 30,000 brave Americans killed or injured in Iraq as a ‘small price’ is reprehensible. Clearly, Minority Leader John Boehner will say anything to justify George Bush’s stay the course approach, but this damaging rhetoric has no place in the debate about the new direction needed in Iraq. Minority Leader Boehner owes our military and their families an apology for his hurtful comments that minimize their tragic loss.”