Obama uses vulgar word referring to Romney, author says

RICHMOND, Va. – President Obama and his campaign have been describing Mitt Romney as a shape-shifter, a pitchman, a slippery politician running from his positions. But according to a cover story in the latest Rolling Stone magazine, Obama’s descriptions get even saltier.

Obama dismissed his GOP rival as “a bullshitter,” historian Douglas Brinkley writes in the issue.

Brinkley, who interviewed Obama for the piece, tells of an exchange between the president and the magazine’s editor, Eric Bates, in which Bates relays that his 6-year-old is a supporter.

“You know, kids have good instincts,” Obama told Bates, according to the article. “They look at the other guy and say, ‘Well, that’s a bullshitter, I can tell.’ ”

The White House didn’t confirm Obama’s choice of noun, but an aide didn’t back off from the sentiment.

White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer told reporters Thursday that he had not read the article, but he had no reason to question Brinkley’s reporting.

“What is true is that trust is a very important part of this election,” Pfeiffer said. “Gov. Romney’s answers in the debates on issues of domestic and foreign policy raise real questions about that.”

The Romney campaign says it’s the president who has broken promises.

Obama has been punching the “trust” theme at stop after stop on a fast-paced 48-hour campaign swing. At a rally in Richmond on Thursday, he told a crowd estimated at 15,000 people that they could count on him.

“You know me,” the president said. “You know I say what I mean and I mean what I say.”

kathleen.hennessey@latimes.com@khennessey