House Speaker John Boehner said Sunday he doesn't see a front-runner so far in the large field of potential GOP candidates for the White House in 2012.
In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Boehner said he's never seen a more wide-open race for his party's nomination. He said Republicans need to find someone who can paint a vision of the future that includes a smaller, less costly and more accountable government.
GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says he's looking for "the most conservative person who is electable" — and that person hasn't emerged.
Graham said the former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney probably is the front-runner among traditional candidates.
Graham told CNN's "State of the Union" that the GOP has "a tall task," but that he thinks President Barack Obama is beatable.
'It's not my job to tell the American people what to think'
Boehner also told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday that Americans have a right to think what they want to think, even when they're wrong about Obama's citizenship and his religion.
Some people believe that Obama, a native of Hawaii, was actually born outside the U.S. or in some other way is not a natural-born citizen eligible to be president. There is also a persistent belief among some that Obama, a Christian, is actually a Muslim.
When the host of "Meet the Press" asked Boehner whether he, as speaker of the House, had a responsibility to "stand up to that kind of ignorance," Boehner told David Gregory: "It's not my job to tell the American people what to think. Our job in Washington is to listen to the American people."
Boehner continued: "Having said that, the state of Hawaii has said that he was born there. That's good enough for me. The president says he's a Christian. I accept him at his word." He later called those "the facts" of Obama's background.
Gregory asked, "But that kind of ignorance, about whether he's a Muslim, doesn't concern you?"
"The American people have the right to think what they want to think," Boehner replied. "I can't — it's not my job to tell them."
Boehner denied that he is willing to let those misperceptions remain because they weaken and delegitimize Obama.