Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) said Wednesday that President Obama was "not a schmoozer," acknowledging the complaints of some of her colleagues on Capitol Hill who say the president has not done enough to court lawmakers.
"He's prioritized spending evenings with his family instead of going down and having a bourbon on the rocks with some of the congressional folks," McCaskill said during an appearance on MSNBC.
Eyebrows across Washington were raised earlier in the week when President Obama and Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) reportedly did not speak with one another at a reception for lawmakers at the White House. The party came just hours after House Republicans offered their counter-proposal to avert the so-called "fiscal cliff."
McCaskill said the incident was "getting overblown," saying that the president is customarily forced to "stay in the photo room the whole night" greeting attendees. But, McCaskill admitted, "he's not a schmoozer — that's true."
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney also defended the president on Tuesday, noting reports that said Boehner had elected not to participate in the receiving line.
"But the president has conversations with Speaker Boehner with some regularity and looks forward to speaking with him again," Carney said.
