Obama's Chamber Of Commerce Appearance From The Outside Looking In

[Better with a Union Man]

http://www.laborradio.org/Channels/Story...ID=1359163

2/7/2011
President Barack Obama went to the Chamber of Commerce on Monday and his speech to business received mixed reviews from those outside. Jesse Russell has more.

The AFL-CIO responded by emailing a list of passages they liked from the speech to Greg Sargent at the Washington Post. Among the parts the liked was Obama’s “reminder to business they have a responsibility to America, that they can’t just worry about shareholders and the bottom line.” They also liked when Obama said that while he’ll fight for changes in the tax codes so businesses can compete in the global market, benefits from those changes make need to be shared with workers and not just used as bonuses or sat as greater profits. Obama also said that while his Administration will look at burdensome regulations business needs to acknowledge that some regulations are necessary safeguards and standards that protect the American people from harm or exploitation. Of course, it wasn’t all roses and candy in the street for Obama. Workers and progressives concerned about the perception the President has been cozy with the American people gathered outside. Activist Ralph Nader had this to say to the cameras capturing the protest:

[Nader]: So labor and workers put him in the White House and he turns his back on labor. But the corporations who have opposed him and want these corporatist Republicans in his place, he comes over and curtsies to them.

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[Willinois]

We hear the echoes of Nader all over the blagosphere. It's a knee-jerk reaction to everything Obama does.

Any President has to talk to the business community. Taking a progressive message about regulation and taxes to the Chamber of Commerce is exactly what I would expect from an ally in the White House.