Via Frank Rich, we found this item in Bloomberg BusinessWeek:
President Barack Obama is preparing new overtures to business that may start with a walk into the headquarters of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a retreat with corporate chief executive officers, according to people familiar with his plans.It seems Tim Geithner has already taken that walk (my emphasis):
Donohue said that U.S. companies are facing a “tsunami” of regulations that are becoming a tax on citizens while disagreeing with McConnell’s proposed solution of pushing for Obama’s defeat.Negotiating the terms of surrender? You decide:
“It’s not our intention to weaken the president in any way,” Donohue told reporters after his Nov. 17 speech. “We are ready to walk across this park and work with the administration on any issue.” ... The same day, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk crossed the park to speak with the Chamber’s board in closed-door meetings.
To address corporate criticism, Obama is also contemplating bringing business leaders into his administration. Unlike his two immediate predecessors, Obama hasn’t had a prominent corporate leader in a high-level administration job.Unless you count the entire business-friendly economics team.
The Chamber of Commerce is seeking, among other things, to "pass pending trade agreements, cut the long-term government debt and preserve the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve." The trade agreements are deeply unpopular; no one cares about the deficit (except for government killers like Grover Norquist); and the Fed is only independent in the sense that it sits in Big Money's front pocket, fingering the change.
Why point this out? Because the time to get organized for 2012 is now. If we don't start agitating, we'll get the same fine choices we had last time.
GP
