Obama, surprised by resignation, calls Boehner 'a good man'

U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he was taken by surprise by U.S. House Speaker John Boehner's plan to resign next month, adding that he called the Republican leader after hearing the news. "John Boehner is a good man. "We have obviously had a lot of disagreements and politically we're at different ends of the spectrum but I will tell you he has always conducted himself with courtesy and civility with me," Obama said of Boehner, with whom he has frequently sparred.