Thursday, February 3, 2011

Business Welcomed Back to the White House

After two years of estrangement, President Obama and the White House team have seen the error of their ways and welcomed back big business.

The motivation for the shift lies mostly in the shellacking of last November (labor and liberals weren’t enough to hold off the wave) and the necessity to raise $1 billion for the 2012 campaign. Also important, Obama will look far more credible on the critical 2012 issue of jobs if he appears working closely with a supportive, smiling business and corporate community.

Most people on the left don’t believe this administration was particularly hostile to business during the first two years. The bailouts, stimulus, health care reform and even the financial regulations were either generous to business or far less onerous than a hard left agenda would have advocated. And, of course, the Bush era tax extension was a major victory for the corporate class.

But, the Obama administration and its Chicago clan did not welcome business into the White House, even on a social level, and Republicans made major fundraising gains, helping fuel the 2010 midterm victories.

Expect that to change. Most Americans don’t realize that Obama’s 2008 campaign, which opted out of campaign financing and its limits, was the most successful fundraising machine in history, and for a liberal Democrat, incredibly rich. Obama outspent John McCain by 50 percent, which paid for an onslaught of advertising that not only sealed Obama’s wins in key states, but turned them into near landslide victories after the recent history of close presidential elections.

See Washington Post article:  Obama's fundraisers are rebuilding bridges to big donors for 2012 campaign

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