John Boehner finally has something worth crying about - his meteoric fall from grace with the American public.

The question asked of 1,000 potential voters was: "Do you approve or disapprove of the job John Boehner is doing?" [Public Policy Polling of 1000 registered voters; MoE 3.1% -3 Apr 2011]

Just since January, Bohner's national approval rating has plummeted by 18 points. At the outset of 2011, 35% of voters approved of the job he was doing while only 28% disapproved and 37% withheld judgment.

But in the past eight weeks his approval has declined by 10 points to 25%, and his disapproval ratings among voters has risen 8 points to 36%.

What's most startling about Boehner's fall is that the numbers are not from any particular segment; everyone is down on him, including his own base. In January Bohner was at 34% among Independents, but now he's deep in negative territory at 21%, reflecting the national trend to back away from the GOP.

Even Nancy Pelosi now has a higher approval rating than John Boehner - 30% to his 25% approval.

American seniors haven't even found out yet about the House Republican budget proposal.

The House wants to require Medicare beneficiaries to get vouchers for private health insurance coverage. The federal government will give out block grants to states to spend however they wish. This will effectively end Medicare. Under the proposal - by House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) - the Affordable Health Care Act will also be repealed.

The House proposals are not simply 'cuts,' and this is not simply a 'reform.' The plan is to abolish Medicare as we know it and replace it with a voucher system, for private insurers, with no cost controls. This will force seniors to pay a greater share of their medical bills out of pocket.

The outcome for cash-strapped California will be pretty grim. Low-income Medicaid beneficiaries will simply lose their guaranteed benefits altogether.