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 andours,” complained a senior White House official who was promisedanonymity so he could speak frankly. “I hope you all (in the media) arehappy 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 whosesecond Inaugural Address was a clarion call to greater governmentactivism, whose State of the Union the New York Times describedas a case for “closing out the politics of austerity,” who haspreviously demonstrated bad faith by fighting even modest reductions inspending growth, and whose second-term strategy so far has depended oncasting Republicans as villains?

Republicans ought to proceed with caution.