She's more effective precisely because the media let "slips" like the embarrassing statement you highlight pass without comment.
Boehner may be a weak speaker, but don't expect even if his replacement is a tea party stalwart that things would be much better. That person would simply be savaged even more in the press than Boehner is, and in the end a lack of public support for cutting government would force them to cave on the big debt issues anyway.
Conservative's have let the left almost entirely take over the education, media and entertainment establishment's. All too often we simply didn't challenge the left in these areas. Conservatives (and even milquetoast Republicans like Boehner) are swimming against such a tide at this point that it is nearly impossible for anyone opposed to Obama and the left to be very successful. It is going to take some really remarkable conservatives/Republicans to reach the public through all the leftist propaganda entrenched at this time.
yes, as we saw there was lots of whining and wailing but no-one challenged him as Speaker and the supposed Tea Party lion's who didnt vote for him (symbolically against him) voted for no-one running, a lame act of symbolism.
There is no-one to replace him.
The correct comparison is Pelosi House 2007 versus now with Bohner. Pelosi didnt tolerate crap from her liberal base screwing up her longer term plans for 2009 and 2010. She passed stuff they hated then that Bush demanded and they saw a huge victory in 2008 as a result(banned light bulbs too) . And so even after 2010 her lib base re-elected her as minority leader knowing she could be trusted.
And as you point out, cutting spending is unpopular now as is most GOP positions. And Pelosi had that advantage in 2007 as the GOP was unpopular then too.