After a fiscal cliff deal that had party leaders in Washington practically at blows last New Years’ Eve, the new year brings new national goals, projections and, well, a new Obama – one ready to serve both sides of the political spectrum. With the public distraught over the divide between both political parties and even more so with their inability to cooperate and work together, President Obama has begun taking a new approach toward dealing with bipartisanship.
Calling it the “Obama Charm Offensive”, this new approach used by the President is basically what its name entails: killing ‘em with kindness. After having had lunches and dinners with various members of the Republican Party recently, President Obama has Republicans questioning the sincerity of this new tactic. Among the skeptics is Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Paul Ryan, who believes the President’s genuineness will be determined depending on what major decisions prevail in the following weeks.
And why shouldn’t the President reach out to Republicans? With an $85 billion spending cut in the works and a nation’s capital that’s already flying high with tension, it would only be wise for the President and his team to set aside their differences with Republicans and work together on things this nation really needs to get done. So this new charm offensive really couldn’t have come at a better time. With a new administration targetted at working with Congress, President Obama’s role as social butterfly may very well be what this nation needed: an end to bipartisan conflicts which do nothing but leave this nation at a loss, socially, economically and politically. At the end of the day, the budget battle this nation is currently facing is one that requires all officials to work together in hopes of achieving exactly what the President had called for all throughout his campaign, that is, to keep the nation moving forward.