The American Spectator : Obama's Canossa Moment

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Obama’s Canossa Moment

By The Prowler on 2.7.11 @ 6:08AM

The humbled president speaks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today.

President Obama makes what some members of the media call “peace” with American business, when he speaks at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today.

Part of that “making peace” has involved signing onto policies largely shaped and pushed by Republicans in Congress after Obama and his Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill ran the U.S. business environment into the ditch. And the speech at the U.S. Chamber is seen as nothing more than one more piece of that pie.

“We don’t want to do it,” says a White House media aide. “Valerie Jarrett has been walking around here just cursing the U.S. Chamber since she got here, and she has been privately working against this speech ever since it was initially proposed back in the fall.”

To prepare for the speech, the White House has been making an effort to speak to representatives of U.S. corporations — and Chamber members — for ideas to include in the speech. “It’s the same old, same old,” says the White House source. “Tax cuts, credits, trade agreements, stuff that our base of support wants nothing to do with. I don’t really think people at the Chamber realize just how reviled they are over here. And it’s killing us that our guy has do this.”

The U.S. Chamber is rolling out the red carpet, encouraging all of its senior board members and Washington representatives to be present. The White House, apparently believing it was in a position to negotiate, requested such a turnout if the President were to speak.

What some in the White House find interesting isn’t that the Chamber would have Obama, but that the Chamber believes that Obama and his team might somehow be buying into its agenda.

“Look, you can set this up as we’re eating crow, or that we’re waving the white flag because we know that unemployment really is up around 10 percent and we know we need the Chamber to help us, or whatever,” says the source. “But we’re doing this because politically we need to be seen over there, moderating. We will not forget what the Chamber did to our guy over the first two years. They sought to ruin his presidency, and we see a way to kneecap these guys, we will.”

Letter to the Editor View all comments (50) | Leave a comment Leave a comment

Robbins Mitchell| 2.7.11 @ 6:26AM

Yea,well Barokeydoke is a far cry fron Emperor Henry IV standing in the snow...the comparison is absurd

Appleby| 2.7.11 @ 6:55AM

Fortunately most people who count have already stopped paying attention to that man (or whatever) behind the curtain. But I am sure Ben Stein will be cheering for him and urging him to raise taxes.

CPT. Charles| 2.7.11 @ 7:21AM

The final paragraph accurately sums up the true relationship between Oobaka and US CoC...he'd level the building and cart them all off in chains if he could get away with it.

Marxists don't need captains of industry and commerce, just strong arms...and stronger whips.

Charles Romer| 2.7.11 @ 8:48PM

Uh-huh. And if what I just saw in a Fox interview this afternoon is any indication, the CoC are ready to cooperate in full in their 'kneecapping.' An example of bending over this flamboyent was as amazing as it was disgusting.

If it were not for the 'courage' of these business elites there would not be a housing crisis, depression era unemployment, nor a President Obama.

Spoonman| 2.7.11 @ 7:21AM

Members of the Chamber know that this guy talks bull and will say anything he thinks they want to hear. The MSM will be all over this telloprompter presentation and the accolades will be pouring out on the airwaves. But remember one thing he is a user.

Deborah D | 2.7.11 @ 7:25AM

Hey -- the Chamber was with Obama at the beginning of his presidency until they actually opened their eyes and realized he was a Marxist. I'm sure there are plenty over there who would love to just believe again. Let's hope they aren't that stupid.

martin j smith| 2.7.11 @ 7:36AM

Speech,speech,speech--CUT THE BEE ESS.. Its ACTIONS THAT COUNT. Obama will not do what is needed to get a real economic recovery. It is against who Obama is-- CAN'T YOU FOOLS GET IT EVER?
AND--IT IS SMALL BUSINESS NOT CRONY CAPITALIST DEALS THAT WILL MAKE OR BREAK OUR ECONOMY. PLUS ENERGY POLICIES THAT MAKES SENSE AMONG OTHER THINGS. OH YEAR, TERMINATE OBAMA CARE AND IN FACT REPEAL OBAMA PERIOD. IMPEACHMENT IS THE WORD.

Melvin| 2.7.11 @ 7:54AM

Barrack Obama could play his greatest strength.....Keeping his mouth shut.

Occam's Tool| 2.7.11 @ 5:21PM

When has he EVER done that?

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.7.11 @ 7:57AM

Small business can't find a government teat. The big boys will try to.

cuban pete| 2.7.11 @ 9:17AM

Bingo!

qwilly| 2.7.11 @ 8:20AM

A good Salesperson can organize any community fast. However a Community Organizer cant make a sale.

margee| 2.7.11 @ 8:28AM

Obama has been "humbled"?? When? The Chamber of Commerce has done more compromising (political slang for Republicans giving Democrats what they want) than Obama would ever dream of doing. They were pro-TARP; pro-stimulus; pr0-card check; pro-amnesty; and now "working with" the AFL-CIO on yet another government driven infrastructure farce. Sorry, but that doesn't sound like a hardship for Obama.

Mimi| 2.7.11 @ 8:42AM

Over and over I posted... he has lost the TRUST!...Don't believe what he SAYS... watch what he does.
He, must spend the next 2 years acting like a true American..ie moderating to ( In his own mind) get re-elected for 4 more years. Then the real destruction will begin...ECONOMY, CONSTITUTION, and our blessed way of LIFE !!
The White House source said....." But we're doing this because politically we need to be seen over there moderating "
What more do we need to know...it's SMOOZE, lies, in-authentic, acting like something your not......QUESTION are we going to fall for it AGAIN ???

doris in dallas| 2.7.11 @ 12:38PM

Right you are Mimi. Obama is in campaign mode and will say anything to get re-elected. Compare what he says to what he does. The media report only what he says, not what he actually does

MikeD| 2.7.11 @ 8:46AM

Be very careful. Remember the old adage: "How do you tell when obama/dems/libs are lying? Answer: Their lips are moving." This P.O.S. in the White House will do or say anything to shut people up and make them think he's changing; 'triangulating' a'la bubba. NO WAY!

Ardent socialists never change; they just sneak around looking for another weakness in their enemies. Unfortunately, we are dependent on the GOP which doesn't have much of a reputation for courage. This is the time and place to stop barry and his fellow thugs once and for all. If the repubs do their jobs, they can stop the dems for another 20 years.

It is an unfortunate reality that the dems still control our youth through their domination of teacher unions that requires every generation to go through a disaster so they can learn the truth about socialism: Pretty soon the dems run out of other people's money and even the young get hurt when dem policies kill jobs.

Mimi| 2.7.11 @ 8:53AM

Right now, We have 20 or so people interested in running for PRESIDENT. Every single one ...has an exemplary character, loyalty and honor...We are blessed with possible candidates. My Question to DEMOCRATS... How come youcan't do likewise ?

Anthony| 2.7.11 @ 9:40AM

This woman Jarrett is really bad news. She is a hardcore Marxist that hates everything about America. Having Angela Davis in the White House would be no worse than this woman, that's how radical this administration is.
She has a chip on her shoulder the size of a 2X4. And when she's not disrespecting our military, mistaking generals for waiters, by demanding they bring her a glass of wine, she is disrespecting all the institutions that made America the greatest nation in the world.
Obozo's faint to the Chamber is just that, but of course, McLame will see it as another sign that Obozo is moving to the center.
If these folks had any balls, they'd boo the hell out of Obozo and force him off the stage. Problem is, having observed Obozo's crony capitalism, withe his new pet Imelt and G.E., they probably are hoping they can glom onto the gravy train.
Obozo will probably get a standing O.
Is Sarah Palin the only person with guts willing to stand up to Obozo??

solidground| 2.7.11 @ 12:12PM

There's also evidence that she's a swindler on a massive scale. I'm still waiting for an investigation into where all the millions in federal money went that Uncle paid her to manage a Chicago public housing project into total rubble.

Rob| 2.7.11 @ 10:00AM

The US C of C is way on board with the Obama agenda. To be seen as opposition by Val Jar illustrates how far left these guys really are. See M Malkin today. Crony Capitalism big time. RJS

hunter| 2.7.11 @ 10:41AM

Like Colonel Sanders meeting with the ceo of Popeyes, us chickens don't have a chance. Obomba has done everything to wreck our country. COC hasn't been able to ship jobs overseas fast enough, so they support illegal immigration and cash in that way, not only in cheaper wages, but making money sending money back to foreign countries thru companies like Western Union for the illegals. What ever happened to keep our money in our own community COC? Used to be thats all the COC ever said was, spend your money locally, keep our money where it would do the most good. Guess this meeting is where Dumb meets Dumber don"t know which is which, you decide.

Kent Lyon| 2.7.11 @ 10:43AM

This is like rolling the Horse inside the gates of Troy with full awareness that it is a Trojan Horse. The Chamber is sabotaging itself and the American business interests it represents. Kind of like the AMA (Dr. Rohack specifically) standing behind Obama on healthcare reform. I thought the Chamber was different. I thought it was not a corporatist suck-up organization. Obama just wants that photo-op of business leaders in thrall to his airy rhetoric to use on the campaign trail while claiming the Chamber is behind him all the way. What dolts. Tom Donahue should be ashamed of himself.

Ken (Old Texican)| 2.7.11 @ 10:59AM

Kent,
the only organization we can count on is the
http://www.nfib.com/ National Federation of Independent Business. Check out their take on their web-site

Timely Renewed | 2.7.11 @ 10:56AM

If the federal government really wants to help business, how about an across-the-board exemption from all federal regulations for the real innovators and job creators - small business? Because federal regulations are designed for (and all too often by) big companies, "one-size-fits-all" national regulations impose far higher compliance costs per employee on small businesses than on big business, which can afford to absorb the costs of large internal staffs and armies of lawyers to comply with massively complex federal regulations. Let the states regulate small businesses so the federal government can focus on the big corporate malefactors. Following the original meaning of the Constitution’s interstate commerce clause and freeing small business from federal regulation will do far, far more to unleash the job-generating power of small business than all of Mr. Obama's token gestures. See http://www.timelyrenewed.com

Stan Redmond| 2.7.11 @ 2:42PM

Obama has specifically stated he expects business to pull his rear-end from the fire his policies have made businesses have the responsibility to hire unneeded employees. Business have to just move on after the massive regulations and business killing policies signed in to law the past few years.
OBAMA YOU DUPNIK!!! You politicians are the reason no one is hiring and the economy is crap!!! Obama is an ignorant man surrounded by dangerously ignorant professors. The sooner he is out of office the better.

I personally could use two extra employees to help me. I won't hire anyone. I won't hire anyone for a long time. When I am facing a daily assault from government busybodies is it any wonder. And I have ZERO resposibility to help Obama look good by hiring people.

JF| 2.7.11 @ 3:27PM

Obama's attitude isn't just built on ignorance of what business is and how it works, but is also based on his utter contempt for the bourgeosie - those silly middle-class (white) people who start and own small businesses and who believe that if they work both hard and smart, they might end up owning a BIG business. Marxists believe that business is in business to serve the government, and anything outside of that is just plain selfish. Nothing that Obama espouses today should be taken seriously.

Redstateboy| 2.7.11 @ 11:00AM

The Best thing Barack Obama can do for America and American Business would be to announce that he won't be seeking a second term.

PaulD| 2.7.11 @ 12:18PM

Resigning would be even better.

Baldy| 2.7.11 @ 11:40AM

I do not get it.

Why would the chamber or anyone for that matter waste their time with this phony.
He has already shown what he is and the comments from WH aides show they have no intent to move in any direction that would improve the economic climate in this country.

The only thing that is moving to the center from this group is words and slogans.
Why the hell anyone takes this administration seriously................I DON'T GET IT!

So the chamber sets up a photo op so the pres can put some soothing words together to try to fool a few more brainless dolts?!

Jezzzus! Wake the hell up people!

Ned| 2.7.11 @ 11:43AM

At least Barry and Moochelle didn't get to go to the Stupor Bowl. Green Bay earned the championship when they beat Chicago (and I'm a Bears fan!) by saving us the $40M tax dollars that would have been wasted taking the Know-Nothings (plus 15 cargo planes of security) to Arlington.

PaulD| 2.7.11 @ 12:17PM

At one point in the speech, Obama said he would travel anywhere in the world, at any time to promote US products. I'll just bet he would!

PaulD| 2.7.11 @ 12:20PM

... and he added that he wouldn't charge admission!

JF| 2.7.11 @ 3:28PM

Please, Barack - Mars needs US made products.

dw| 2.7.11 @ 6:41PM

The actual quote is.."I will travel anywhere in the world, as long there are quality golf courses nearby, to promote U.S. products."

Spoonman| 2.8.11 @ 5:28AM

He'll travel anywhere but only if its on Airforce One and there is a huge supply of Maine Lobster for him and Michelle to feast on.

Glenn Koons | 2.7.11 @ 1:17PM

1st, Obama has made a religious speech for the conning of the religious vote just like he got in 2008. He had conned business in the election of 2008 and that was one reason this socialist won. Will business be spun and conned again??? Obama thinks so. All of these mea culpas are now for the .....2012 election.Nothing more. O knows how many stupid voters whether religious or business that we still have in America. Both groups better wake up or in 2012, we will find this tyant Prez again.

DWS from Wesss Virginny| 2.7.11 @ 1:47PM

"But [Obama is] doing this because politically [he] need[s] to be seen over there, moderating. [He] will not forget what the Chamber did to [him] over the first two years. They sought to ruin his presidency, and [when Obama] sees a way to kneecap these guys, [he] will."

I don't think my insertions change the substance of the quote from the last line of this article. Given that, it is what Obama means when he invokes the idea of civil discourse in the public arena. Civil to Obama means the being the first one to kneecap. You bring a knife, Obama brings a gun. Lord spare us!

dane bramage| 2.7.11 @ 2:30PM

All the US Chamber of Commerce wants from Barry Soetero is amnesty for 20 million +- illegal aliens.

Uli Kunkel| 2.7.11 @ 2:48PM

Hopefully the Chamber of Commerce drops a net on the schmuck (Obonehead) and hauls him away to an "undisclosed location" for some attitude adjustment, the man's a crisis!!!

Dan| 2.7.11 @ 4:16PM

We must understand Obama will say anything between now and 2012 in oder to win re-election. What dismays is so many people, who should know better, believe he is really making an effort to change. It is hard to understand why these pundits and talking heads believe he will stay in the middle if he wins in 2012. By 2016 our constitution will be meaningless and at least for those four years we will have been under the control of a communist dictator

Occam's Tool| 2.7.11 @ 5:25PM

This article should really be read with the soundtrack to "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" playing in the background, The problem I have with the Chamber of Commerce inviting Barry over to speak is determining who the "Good" guy is. "Bad" and "Ugly" is pretty easy.

Occam's Tool| 2.7.11 @ 5:27PM

Sorry. the punctuation mark between "background" and "The" should be a period.

Speedypete| 2.7.11 @ 7:54PM

We all need to deal in reality and every day life. Obama did nothing to stop the 1099 debacle in the health care bill. It would have destroyed our business and yours. Obama has federal OSHA inspectors running around the country inspecting over top of state inspectors. Another good incentive for businesses to MOVE OUT. Unless you are getting a government check his policies are destructive. And your check won't be worth much very, very soon.

tonypal| 2.8.11 @ 12:04AM

The Chamber of Commerce and a few people on this board have to wake up to what Obama is all about. It has nothing to do with Obama's ignorance regarding job growth, etc. No one can possibly be this dumb.

Obama has set out to wreck what's left of this nation's free market economy and understands exactly how to do it. That's why anyone even remotely interested in job creation must oppose this menace. Forget about all this nonsense that he's an economic illiterate. He understands all too well what is necessary to get things going, but that would interfere with his true goal.

In order to deal with him, we must be relentless. That includes not giving him cover as he seeks to reposition himself as a centrist. Obama snaps his fingers and they all line up to kiss his ass. He needs to be rejected categorically by anyone who has a business interest in this country.

One last suggestion: Could someone bring John McCain to the bat cave for the next 2 years.

Ralph Novy| 2.8.11 @ 7:14PM

You're a paranoid racist, dude.

Face up to it and get some help.

I'd suggest a common-sense old-fart uncle named Ralph who'll listen to you, then tell you to knock that shit off and get a life.

Ralph Novy| 2.8.11 @ 7:08PM

"Obama and his Democrat leaders on Capitol Hill ran the U.S. business environment into the ditch."

Uh-huh.

And Weimar socialists created work/concentration/death camps.

Uh-huh.

Any more 180° historical revisionism forthcoming?

Shame on you.

Big Bambu| 2.10.11 @ 9:56PM

They sought to ruin his presidency.......LOL LOL How could anyone ruin a presidency premised on ideas that in themselves guarantee failure?

Reebok | 8.11.11 @ 4:10AM

is good

العاب | 4.11.12 @ 4:40PM

You're a paranoid racist, dude

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