Obama's 'Charm Offensive' A 'Joke' And Waste of Time Says Senior WH Official

Because the president's poll numbers are sliding, he has very publicly been "reaching out to Republicans" in an effort to stem the tide.

According to Ron Fournier of National Journal an anonymous White House official told reporters that Obama's so-called "charm offensive" is a "joke," a waste of everyone's time, and basically a stunt for the media. The  official made the comments after being promised anonymity.

Via The Weekly Standard:

“This is a joke. We’re wasting the president’s time and ours,” complained a senior White House official who was promised anonymity so he could speak frankly. “I hope you all (in the media) are happy because we’re doing it for you.”

Well, I'm sure they're happy because they're dutifully flooding the airwaves with reports about Obama's charming charm offensive. Still, the president can't be happy with an official speaking that frankly to the media.

The Weekly Standard's Steve Hayes's take is here.

His exit question is a good one:

...it’s fair to ask: Why should Republicans trust a man whose second Inaugural Address was a clarion call to greater government activism, whose State of the Union the New York Times described as a case for “closing out the politics of austerity,” who has previously demonstrated bad faith by fighting even modest reductions in spending growth, and whose second-term strategy so far has depended on casting Republicans as villains?

Republicans ought to proceed with caution.